Backfill: Feb 22Tika's panting will yet be the death of the known universe. One of my former housemates hated it. Complained about Tika always being right there "hahhh hahhhh hahhh hahhh" all the time. Current housemate's boyfriend hates it. They go hide in the housemate's bedroom to avoid it when eating meals. (I did clean up the dining room and move the big table in there so we could actually close the doors and keep the dogs out if we want, which they've done a couple of times, but it feels more like you're closing yourself in--)
I took the dogs to the Big Park this morning. Tika sat (loosely speaking) in the passenger seat. It takes about 15 minutes to drive over there. By the time we had arrived, the entire side window and fully half of the windshield were steamed up so as to be almost opaque. That's a lot of panting.
Later I was working at the computer, ignoring the dogs--deadlines, you know. Tika decided it was time to do something. She's gotten much better about pawing at me or nudging me. So she sits about 18" from my elbow and pants. "hahhh hahhhh hahhh hahhh" constantly, not a break. I don't know how long she'd been sitting there before I noticed that she wasn't going away (one does develop some immunity), so I decided to keep an eye on the clock and see when she'd give up and lie down, go away, or stop panting. 15 minutes later I couldn't stand it any longer and got up to go do something else. (Can't do something *with* the dogs because that would be reinforcing the behavior. But she did get me to stand up and leave the computer. Hmmm.)
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Near-Puppy Experience
Backfill: Feb 22
I've been saying for a long time that my next dog needs to be at least 4 years younger than Tika. Her fourth birthday is Monday (hard to believe sometimes). So that means that my next dog could be born any time after today.
But sometimes something comes along that's hard to pass up--
Email Feb 4:
OK, I've always liked Border Collies (BC) and Kelpies are pretty cool (see some photos I took of local agility Kelpies) and both parents are known (unlike so many mixed breeds) and they're still puppies...
Here's a photo of Tracy's puppy; apparently the two remaining are black-and-white, however, no tricolors.
I asked for more info and so got info from the original poster (a friend of the BC's owner), from Tracey, and from the BC's owner.
Then on Monday I found out that my housemate will be leaving, so I have no idea who I'll have in the house; I'll have to spend time finding someone; I have no idea whether I'll have the income that will allow me to do agility and/or lessons with any of my dogs; I have promised to do a project for Power Paws Camp for this year; and I'm finishing up one big contract and (I hope) starting another one in a couple of weeks.
The more I thought about it, the more I stressed about having another dog. BUT--they seemed to have fallen in my lap, so to speak. They seemed to be calling me. We know that the parents are (presumably) excellent working dogs, which is usually an excellent thing for agility dogs. And good looking pups. And a nice mix.
I called the breeder & she said this was a bad time for her to have puppies and she hadn't had time to spend with them; no training of any kind, have never been in the house, just mostly in the kennel and sometimes out loose around the ranch, where they've been pretty well behaved--stopped chasing the stock as soon as she scolded them for it. Hasn't spent enough time with them to really have a good idea about their personalities or temperament.
So that's no different from a rescue, really, except that we know who the parents are and what their early environment has been.
I made an appointment for today to drive 2.5 hours out to the Central Valley to check them out. But every time I started thinking about having another dog in the house, I could feel my blood pressure rise and my tension level escalate. By Thursday night, I was just about beside myself with "I'll never be able to handle this; it'll drive me nuts." The next morning, well-rested, I was able to think "maybe if I really stretch myself I can handle this," and I kept talking about the up sides to these puppies...
But by Friday night I realized that this is just not a good time for a new dog in my life. So I called and cancelled my appointment to view the pups. It's too bad, because they could be great agility dogs. But my relief when I made the phone call was tremendous.
So I'm back to where I was the week before, which is: Maybe in 6-9 months I'll be ready to consider another dog. Maybe next fall, as the agility season winds down. Maybe maybe maybe.
I've been saying for a long time that my next dog needs to be at least 4 years younger than Tika. Her fourth birthday is Monday (hard to believe sometimes). So that means that my next dog could be born any time after today.
But sometimes something comes along that's hard to pass up--
Email Feb 4:
For those of you who saw Tracey's pup this past weekend in Santa
Rosa and fell in love with her, she has 2 siblings that still are looking
for homes! They are both very smart, quick and look to be nice agility
prospects. Mom is a smooth coat BC....VERY nice and dad (by accident) is a
Kelpie. If you are interested let me know and I'll put you in touch with my
friend who has them. They are on a ranch currently and have been around
stock. Have had first shots.
VERY cool pups!!!!
OK, I've always liked Border Collies (BC) and Kelpies are pretty cool (see some photos I took of local agility Kelpies) and both parents are known (unlike so many mixed breeds) and they're still puppies...
Here's a photo of Tracy's puppy; apparently the two remaining are black-and-white, however, no tricolors.I asked for more info and so got info from the original poster (a friend of the BC's owner), from Tracey, and from the BC's owner.
1. There is a girl and a boy, both black
with some white, short coated (like VERY short coated). They are located in
Plymouth (not far from Ranch Murrita). Ellen, I know this mama dog well. She is VERY sweet and would have made a great agility dog if Bobbie would have let her get off the ranch (she works
their cows), and onto the agility field. They train performance horses so
agility is not their priority :-).Thanks for your interest, Bobbie need to find them homes as she does notwant to raise any pups.
2. I'm having a blast with mine. Maiya is 16 weeks old now. The others [are all] black with a little white on feet and chest. She's about 27lbs. now. She's smart as a whip and loves to learn new things. Hopefully she'll be the best of both breeds. The mother is a really nice border. Very tall and lean. Unfortunately I didn't get to see the kelpie dad. He's a neighbor's dog that bred her by accident. Bobbie said he's a little stockier :(( I'm hoping she'll balance out between them.
3. The puppies were born on October 24th.....and are mostly black......alittle white on the chest...but that is about it. I have a male and a female left........I personally think the female is cute...but the male has a great personality also. Everybody who has taken one of the pups really is enjoying them.....says they are incredibly smart.
Then on Monday I found out that my housemate will be leaving, so I have no idea who I'll have in the house; I'll have to spend time finding someone; I have no idea whether I'll have the income that will allow me to do agility and/or lessons with any of my dogs; I have promised to do a project for Power Paws Camp for this year; and I'm finishing up one big contract and (I hope) starting another one in a couple of weeks.
The more I thought about it, the more I stressed about having another dog. BUT--they seemed to have fallen in my lap, so to speak. They seemed to be calling me. We know that the parents are (presumably) excellent working dogs, which is usually an excellent thing for agility dogs. And good looking pups. And a nice mix.
I called the breeder & she said this was a bad time for her to have puppies and she hadn't had time to spend with them; no training of any kind, have never been in the house, just mostly in the kennel and sometimes out loose around the ranch, where they've been pretty well behaved--stopped chasing the stock as soon as she scolded them for it. Hasn't spent enough time with them to really have a good idea about their personalities or temperament.
So that's no different from a rescue, really, except that we know who the parents are and what their early environment has been.
I made an appointment for today to drive 2.5 hours out to the Central Valley to check them out. But every time I started thinking about having another dog in the house, I could feel my blood pressure rise and my tension level escalate. By Thursday night, I was just about beside myself with "I'll never be able to handle this; it'll drive me nuts." The next morning, well-rested, I was able to think "maybe if I really stretch myself I can handle this," and I kept talking about the up sides to these puppies...
But by Friday night I realized that this is just not a good time for a new dog in my life. So I called and cancelled my appointment to view the pups. It's too bad, because they could be great agility dogs. But my relief when I made the phone call was tremendous.
So I'm back to where I was the week before, which is: Maybe in 6-9 months I'll be ready to consider another dog. Maybe next fall, as the agility season winds down. Maybe maybe maybe.
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Changing Instructors
Backfill: Feb 22Well, it's finally happening. Our instructor, Rachel Sanders, has announced the end of March (give or take some weeks due to rain days) as her final time teaching classes in the Bay Area. They've bought property near San Luis Obispo and she's got more students there already than she can manage. We've known it was coming for almost a year, I think.
Tika and I started with her classes for basic obedience, which gradually morphed into beginning agility classes, then I switched classes at least once to get into some more advanced course handling techniques, and there we've been since. So it's 3 years of work with one instructor. I've learned so much.
Now I need to start thinking about taking classes elsewhere. I've been taking classes at Power Paws Agility since I started with Remington 9 years ago, first with Rem and then with Jake as well. I learned so much from them, too. I have liked having multiple instructors, because they all have different skills and perspectives and experiences, so I think that I get a better all-around Learning Experience. And I like going up to Power Paws, too.
So I'm going to try to get Tika into class there. Ideally I'd go back to what I had with Rem and Jake--back-to-back classes with Tika and Jake so that I have to make the drive up into the Alum Rock Hills only once a week. Since Jake is more or less retired, he could really be in almost any class, although I've been with this particular Wednesday night group for so long that it feels like home (although actually the Wed night attendees have gradually changed over the years--).
But it will be odd having a different instructor for me with Tika after all this time.
Tika and I started with her classes for basic obedience, which gradually morphed into beginning agility classes, then I switched classes at least once to get into some more advanced course handling techniques, and there we've been since. So it's 3 years of work with one instructor. I've learned so much.
Now I need to start thinking about taking classes elsewhere. I've been taking classes at Power Paws Agility since I started with Remington 9 years ago, first with Rem and then with Jake as well. I learned so much from them, too. I have liked having multiple instructors, because they all have different skills and perspectives and experiences, so I think that I get a better all-around Learning Experience. And I like going up to Power Paws, too.
So I'm going to try to get Tika into class there. Ideally I'd go back to what I had with Rem and Jake--back-to-back classes with Tika and Jake so that I have to make the drive up into the Alum Rock Hills only once a week. Since Jake is more or less retired, he could really be in almost any class, although I've been with this particular Wednesday night group for so long that it feels like home (although actually the Wed night attendees have gradually changed over the years--).
But it will be odd having a different instructor for me with Tika after all this time.
Monday, February 07, 2005
Losing Casey
And on a downer note--Wednesday night I finally did it: Asked my agility instructors whether they'd be starting a beginning agility class soon, and told them I'd like to enroll Casey. Last night when I got home, the housemate informed me that she'd accepted a job in Los Angeles! So Casey will be leaving, and my wonderful housemate, and I'll be back to square one in trying to find someone to pay the rent. Sigh. I hate looking for housemates!
Musings on the Steeplechase
The Event
The Steeplechase is a special tournament event within the USDAA. It has its own National (or International, I suppose) championship every year. Steeplechase courses are designed to be extremely fast, exciting to watch and fun to run. Courses are numbered, but they eliminate the teeter, the table, and the dogwalk; they repeat either the A-frame or the weave poles. In short, they're essentially jumpers courses with weaves and A-frame thrown in for good measure.The course is judged on time plus faults, with no "standard course time"--whoever has the lowest combined score wins. However, an off-course immediately disqualifies you. To qualify for the nationals, a dog must finish in the top 30% of dogs competing at the same height. (Used to be top 25%, I believe, until this year?)
Regional qualifiers have two parts, usually run on two separate days. The top 30% of the dogs on Day 1 qualify to go to the Nationals and also qualify to go to the bonus Round 2 on the 2nd day. Round 2 does nothing else in terms of qualifying for the Nationals, but it is the only event in all of American agility that pays cash prizes. For example, for 26" dogs, the 1st-place dog takes home 10% of the total entry fees for the Steeplechase; the 7th-place dog takes home 1%; and anything below that in theory gets nothing.
My History in Steeplechase
I almost always entered my dogs in tournament classes even when I had no intention of going to the National Championships. First, it's good practice; second, it's a delight and a prestige (at least in my own mind) to have qualified and/or places; third, it's just good practice.In my first few years of competing, I went to only a few trials a year, so I never encountered a Steeplechase until 1998.
Remington entered exactly 5 steeplechases--one a year--after that, and Qualified only once, in May of 20000 (11th out of, I believe, 11 dogs who moved up). In the 2nd round he proceeded to completely turn off and basically trotted around the course; the only reason he didn't finish last is because some faster dogs went off course.
Jake entered exactly 6 Steeplechases--one a year (none in 2004 because they sadly do not offer a Performance-level or Veteran Steeplechase)--and interestingly Qualified only in the same one that Remington qualified in, placing 13th out of (I think) 13 dogs who moved up. In Round 2, he turned into SuperJake and we were on a roll until the last few jumps in a swing around to a straight line to the finish, where he swung PAST one of the jumps and took the next one before I could stop him, for an off course.
So I've never considered myself a person who had Steeplchase dogs; I always watched from the sidelines.
Tika and Steeplechases
Clubs must be offering a lot more Steeplechases these days, because in only 2 years of competition, Tika has entered seven already. She E'ed (eliminated--off courses) in 3 of her first 4.
In her 5th Steeplechase Round 1, she placed 10th out of (I think) 10 or 11 dogs who qualified. In Round 2, we watched as other dogs knocked bars wildly or went off course (Tika had one bar down) and we placed 6th! We took home a check for $10. Try to imagine my excitement, after 8 and a half years of agility competition, to finally place in the money in the Steeplechase!
This weekend, we did even better in Round 1 with a faultless run, placing 4th out of 11 dogs who moved up. Some of the very fast local dogs weren't there, but many of the very fast local dogs were; this was not a cakewalk by any means. Now I've qualified twice in six-month span. Perhaps it's a fluke, but I think not. We placed 8th and took home a check for just over $5 (which is odd because I thought anything beyond 7th wasn't supposed to get a check--do you suppose I wrote our placement down incorrectly? Why didn't this occur to me yesterday when I could verify? Dang). We'd have placed a strong 2nd if it weren't for the knocked bar--and no one else can say that (because even others with knocked bars were slower than the actual 2nd-place dog).
Stay tuned in future months for more Steeplechase thrills and chills.
Tika's Weekend
Well, Tika's doing very nicely, and we're SOOOOO close to getting Qs...
Saturday
- Standard. Beautiful. Except that, when approaching the table, she stopped and turned back towards me. Don't know why. Our only fault. Who'd'a ever thought it would be that, rather than our usual bars or up-contact on the dogwalk?
- Gamblers. Not beautiful. Bobbled almost everything in the opening and so were in the wrong place for the closing but the main issue was that I couldn't get her to "out" during the gamble. I thought she had a good "out"! When I want a *little* out and say "out" during a run, she swerves way out there!
- Pairs Relay. Tika knocked a bar but, since this class is time plus faults (if the combination is less than the standard course time), and our partner was good and Tika was fast, we Qed anyway.
- Snooker. A good fast strong beginning and then, on a tight wrap, I moved too soon and she backjumped.
- Steeplechase Round 1. A lovely, unhurried, faultless run and we took 4th out of 33 dogs for a Q.
1st, Aiko 24.41 (Last year's national champion)
2nd, Hobbes 28.17 (A perennial national finalist)
3rd, Cappuccino 29.01 (One of our former Wed-morning classmates)
4th, Tika 29.17
...
7th, Boomer (a current Wed-morning classmate)
Sunday
- Snooker. A good fast strong beginning and then knocked a red and I couldn't get her to turn and come back.
- Jumpers: She didn't wait for release so took her off.
- Steeplechase round 2, A-frame and 2 weaves. A very fast smooth run until 4th from last jump, when she knocked the bar and spun in towards me instead of taking the next jump. Even with the spin, she was the 2nd fastest 26" dog but the knocked bar dropped her to 8th. (1st: Aiko, 28.27; 2nd: Hobbes, 33.27; Tika at 32.79 with the spin. (I think our classmates Cap finished 4th and Boomer 6th?)
- Gamblers: 1 point off the highest opening score. But couldn't get her to turn away from me off a teeter in the gamble.
- Standard: Oh it went all to heck here--knocked bars and off-courses galore. But she had a nice start-line sit, good contacts, good weaves.
Thursday, February 03, 2005
One-Day USDAA Trial
Our club (The Bay Team) experimented with a masters-one-day, advanced-and-novice-one day format. It seemed to work pretty well with a 2-day trial up in Santa Rosa. Long way for me to drive--nearly 2 hours starting at 4 a.m.--which is beyond where I usually arrange for a hotel overnight. But since it was just a one-day trial (I entered Tika on Saturday), I just came on home when we were done. Fortunately I have a cousin in Richmond who was home and offered me dinner on the way home, so I got a break at about the 1-hour point, also avoiding some horrendous traffic going south on 80 early in the evening.
She stayed sitting still at the start line in all but one case, where she stood up and I let her go anyway (dumb dumb dumb) but it didn't seem to affect her the rest of the day. I didn't do much in the way of long lead-outs, so that she could succeed at staying in one place and get to run. So this made me very happy, considering where we were in November at our last competition.
She got all her weave entries beautifully. She did all of her contacts fast and waited--although she left early a couple of times, one of which perhaps contributed to her going offcourse on the next tunnel.
She didn't knock the first bar in Snooker, even though I led out considerably. That's always a pleasure. She knocked 2 bars in Jumpers although the course itself worked quite smoothly--which was OK because about half the class went offcourse on that Jumpers course, so I guess we did good!
And in gamblers she got a difficult turn over the first 3 obstacles but then didn't carry out (on the "easy part") to the last 2 obstacles. Still, lots and lots of dogs missed that first part, so she looked OK there, too.
So--offcourse in one of her 2 pairs run (partner went offcourse in same place in the other one!), 2 bars knocked in Jumpers, I messed up on calling her in Snooker for an early exit, Gamblers she got lots of opening points but (as I said) missed the complete gamble; Standard missed the up on the dogwalk (this is looking really ugly again lately) and then offcourse into wrong end of a tunnel. But she was fast and attentive and I had a good time.
Of course--I don't know how many 0-Q weekends I can handle and still feel cheerful.
In class last night, where his formerly foster mom Nancy taught our class for the first time in many many months, she said that he looked the best she's even seen him. He is running *really* well in class. I'm still second and third and fourth-guessing whether I'm doing the right thing by not entering him in competitions.
Tika
Tika did very well--6 runs and not a single Q among them, but none-the-less I was fairly pleased.She stayed sitting still at the start line in all but one case, where she stood up and I let her go anyway (dumb dumb dumb) but it didn't seem to affect her the rest of the day. I didn't do much in the way of long lead-outs, so that she could succeed at staying in one place and get to run. So this made me very happy, considering where we were in November at our last competition.
She got all her weave entries beautifully. She did all of her contacts fast and waited--although she left early a couple of times, one of which perhaps contributed to her going offcourse on the next tunnel.
She didn't knock the first bar in Snooker, even though I led out considerably. That's always a pleasure. She knocked 2 bars in Jumpers although the course itself worked quite smoothly--which was OK because about half the class went offcourse on that Jumpers course, so I guess we did good!
And in gamblers she got a difficult turn over the first 3 obstacles but then didn't carry out (on the "easy part") to the last 2 obstacles. Still, lots and lots of dogs missed that first part, so she looked OK there, too.
So--offcourse in one of her 2 pairs run (partner went offcourse in same place in the other one!), 2 bars knocked in Jumpers, I messed up on calling her in Snooker for an early exit, Gamblers she got lots of opening points but (as I said) missed the complete gamble; Standard missed the up on the dogwalk (this is looking really ugly again lately) and then offcourse into wrong end of a tunnel. But she was fast and attentive and I had a good time.
Of course--I don't know how many 0-Q weekends I can handle and still feel cheerful.
Jake
This was Jake's first weekend not competing. I think he seemed confused about getting out, doing tricks, playing a bunch of frisbee and tug of war, and then going back in the crate. But maybe I'm the only one who's confused.In class last night, where his formerly foster mom Nancy taught our class for the first time in many many months, she said that he looked the best she's even seen him. He is running *really* well in class. I'm still second and third and fourth-guessing whether I'm doing the right thing by not entering him in competitions.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Just a Simple Post
I can hardly wait--agility this Saturday for Tika! It's been 2 months since our last competition.
This will also be Jake's first sitting-out. We went to class last night and he was magnificent--running like the SuperJake of old, getting his contacts, hitting some tough weave entries, eager and excited. And I don't think he was hurtin' later, either, from the extra running and jumping.
Did I do right to retire him? Argh. I hate second-guessing myself.
Did you ever try to take a really nice picture of one dog? How about 2 simultaneously? How about *three* simultaneously? Jeez. What dorks. Definitely at least a 2-person job, but there was only me and my camera. Here's one feeble attempt out of about 20 shots.
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Assorted Notes
Rescuing dogs for show biz: URL passed along by a friend.
Work Deadlines: Well, that was a biggie. I've put in over 54 hours this week. It has been many years since I've done much more than 40, and not 40 often these days. Dogs have not been happy with me; I even skipped Jake's agility class this week trying to get something done that I had to get done that day.
Crazed animals: At least Tika got class this week. She seemed quite happy about that after three weeks off for holidays and rain. She even did sit-stays at the start line most of the time. Lifted her butt maybe twice but I believe put it back down without moving. And stood up or lay down once or twice to eat dirt. (It is *so* tasty after a good rain--all those years of dog goodie crumbs and sawdust add up to the yummiest between-run snack--) But when replaced each of those times, she stayed replaced. So there's hope.
Leaping dog: Tika is not a low-key dog. Remington used to get very excited about going for a walk, but he'd slam his butt to the floor to have the leash put on because he knew that that meant he'd get to go sooner. Tika leaps 10 feet in the air repeatedly, shrieking and running in circles between leaps, sometimes even dashing into the other room. If I wait, eventually she might sit on her own, but meanwhile the other dogs are sounding off and swirling around, too. As soon as Tika sits, so does everyone else, and all of a sudden there's peace--except for Tika's frequent under-the-breath whines and all indications that she's barely remaining seated and is ready to explode from her position with a moment's notice.
Dinner dog: She also leaps at dinner time after the bowls are full and as I'm heading back into the house from the deck where the food is stored. She leaps and leaps and throws herself at the doggie door sliding-door insert (which I have to squeeze past to get into the house). I did finally decide this year that having her stress and drool all around me while I filled the bowls was too much. I've been trying for a couple of years to get her to sit while I did it, but that never worked; I switched to lying down and she's much, MUCH better at that, although I do usually have to remind her. But the reminder is sometimes as simple as looking at her. Sometimes there are solutions for her problems and I just haven't stumbled on them yet. (Lying down instead of sitting, for example.)
Walking around other dogs: Or figuring out how to get her to behave when there are other dogs around while we're out for a walk. (This isn't an issue at agility trials or class, by the way--only *away* from dog activities.) Her usual behavior--I've griped about it before-- which is shriek and yowl and throw herself to the end of the leash and thrash and become totally and obsessively stressed, I have failed to thrwart by scolding, punishing, trying to get her to walk at my side and rewarding for that, making her lie down (doesn't get to go anywhere as punishment), trying to get her to do some tricks, and I'm not sure what else.
Today we went for a nice 3-mile walk along part of the Guadalupe River Trail and, by the end of it, Tika was actually sitting and staying as other dogs walked by. This was a major achievement after getting a chance to work with her for only 5 or 6 dogs walking by during the whole walk. This was the first time I tried working on her sit with clicker & goodie as they came by. I combined with verbal correction and close physical restraint when she leaped and shrieked, but I was quick with the clicker and the goodie when she sat, and then when she remained sitting, and then when she remained sitting and looked at me.
So this was quite successful. The challenges for me are (1) remember to take goodies and clicker with me *every* time we go for a walk, because although we hardly ever see dogs around here, we do see them often enough that all of the neighborhood dog owners think she's viscious, (2) what exactly to do when the dog is offleash and running up to us, (3) what exactly to do when the other dog is stationary. I've debating putting up a giant siren on the roof and sounding it whenever we go for a walk so that all the people in a half-mile radius can put their dogs into the house so they're not barking at the fence when we try to walk by.
But I'll come up with variants on the theme. Now that the inkling has finally gotten into her head that there's something to do other than overreact to the other dogs. I don't know why this works and other behaviors haven't, and this is only one day, but eventually--
Greeting people at the door: And there's still the greeting-people-at-the-door issue. Throwing her into the other room behind the gate is only a bandaid for the symptom, especially as she continues to shriek and leap and bark (note to self: get refill of mouthspray for punishing shrieking and barking). Sigh.
OK, now, don't everyone send me your solutions. I'll only get annoyed and start shrieking and leaping about.
Work Deadlines: Well, that was a biggie. I've put in over 54 hours this week. It has been many years since I've done much more than 40, and not 40 often these days. Dogs have not been happy with me; I even skipped Jake's agility class this week trying to get something done that I had to get done that day.
Crazed animals: At least Tika got class this week. She seemed quite happy about that after three weeks off for holidays and rain. She even did sit-stays at the start line most of the time. Lifted her butt maybe twice but I believe put it back down without moving. And stood up or lay down once or twice to eat dirt. (It is *so* tasty after a good rain--all those years of dog goodie crumbs and sawdust add up to the yummiest between-run snack--) But when replaced each of those times, she stayed replaced. So there's hope.
Leaping dog: Tika is not a low-key dog. Remington used to get very excited about going for a walk, but he'd slam his butt to the floor to have the leash put on because he knew that that meant he'd get to go sooner. Tika leaps 10 feet in the air repeatedly, shrieking and running in circles between leaps, sometimes even dashing into the other room. If I wait, eventually she might sit on her own, but meanwhile the other dogs are sounding off and swirling around, too. As soon as Tika sits, so does everyone else, and all of a sudden there's peace--except for Tika's frequent under-the-breath whines and all indications that she's barely remaining seated and is ready to explode from her position with a moment's notice.
Dinner dog: She also leaps at dinner time after the bowls are full and as I'm heading back into the house from the deck where the food is stored. She leaps and leaps and throws herself at the doggie door sliding-door insert (which I have to squeeze past to get into the house). I did finally decide this year that having her stress and drool all around me while I filled the bowls was too much. I've been trying for a couple of years to get her to sit while I did it, but that never worked; I switched to lying down and she's much, MUCH better at that, although I do usually have to remind her. But the reminder is sometimes as simple as looking at her. Sometimes there are solutions for her problems and I just haven't stumbled on them yet. (Lying down instead of sitting, for example.)
Walking around other dogs: Or figuring out how to get her to behave when there are other dogs around while we're out for a walk. (This isn't an issue at agility trials or class, by the way--only *away* from dog activities.) Her usual behavior--I've griped about it before-- which is shriek and yowl and throw herself to the end of the leash and thrash and become totally and obsessively stressed, I have failed to thrwart by scolding, punishing, trying to get her to walk at my side and rewarding for that, making her lie down (doesn't get to go anywhere as punishment), trying to get her to do some tricks, and I'm not sure what else.
Today we went for a nice 3-mile walk along part of the Guadalupe River Trail and, by the end of it, Tika was actually sitting and staying as other dogs walked by. This was a major achievement after getting a chance to work with her for only 5 or 6 dogs walking by during the whole walk. This was the first time I tried working on her sit with clicker & goodie as they came by. I combined with verbal correction and close physical restraint when she leaped and shrieked, but I was quick with the clicker and the goodie when she sat, and then when she remained sitting, and then when she remained sitting and looked at me.
So this was quite successful. The challenges for me are (1) remember to take goodies and clicker with me *every* time we go for a walk, because although we hardly ever see dogs around here, we do see them often enough that all of the neighborhood dog owners think she's viscious, (2) what exactly to do when the dog is offleash and running up to us, (3) what exactly to do when the other dog is stationary. I've debating putting up a giant siren on the roof and sounding it whenever we go for a walk so that all the people in a half-mile radius can put their dogs into the house so they're not barking at the fence when we try to walk by.
But I'll come up with variants on the theme. Now that the inkling has finally gotten into her head that there's something to do other than overreact to the other dogs. I don't know why this works and other behaviors haven't, and this is only one day, but eventually--
Greeting people at the door: And there's still the greeting-people-at-the-door issue. Throwing her into the other room behind the gate is only a bandaid for the symptom, especially as she continues to shriek and leap and bark (note to self: get refill of mouthspray for punishing shrieking and barking). Sigh.
OK, now, don't everyone send me your solutions. I'll only get annoyed and start shrieking and leaping about.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Tika's Doing Fine
I've been busy. Tika's doing great. Only 3 or 4 days after seeing the vet, there remained no signs of pain or of the little tiny bit of swelling at the one point. I kept her to a minimum of [Tika] activity anyway for 10 days, gradually increasing. She's all back to normal now and doing fine.
Except that--with no agility class for the last 3 weeks and our last competition over Thanksgiving--she's bored BORED ****BOOOOORRRED**** and hardly ever stops pestering me to do something interesting.
Jake's doing fine, too, just the usual occasional yelp about his backside area.
Except that--with no agility class for the last 3 weeks and our last competition over Thanksgiving--she's bored BORED ****BOOOOORRRED**** and hardly ever stops pestering me to do something interesting.
Jake's doing fine, too, just the usual occasional yelp about his backside area.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
not related to dogs (updated Jan 18)
This page has a brief amount of info about breast fibroid adenomas, or fibroadenomas: Hmmm, after reading a couple dozen pages on the web, it's starting to seem like I should call the surgeon back and ask for a needle biopsy after all. It's always the bad stuff that's posted on the web, eh?
But I'm still not losing sleep over it. In any event, I already have a 3-month followup appointment. Also standard procedure from my previous experiences.
But I'm still not losing sleep over it. In any event, I already have a 3-month followup appointment. Also standard procedure from my previous experiences.
Monday, January 10, 2005
Misc Stati
Mammo followup: Saw surgeon today. Diagnosis is completely harmless fibroid adenoma based on what she felt and what radiologists interpreted in ultrasound & mammo. Said she'd do a needle biopsy if it would help me sleep nights but there's not other medical reason for doing so. I said I was sleeping fine so skip it, since it's been done before and found nothing. Case closed.
Tika followup: No sign at least the last couple of days of any pain at all. She really wants to get up and go go go. Interestingly, though, the more days we have of quietude, the more the dogs seem to expect it. I guess these guys could be couch potatoes given the right environment. Can you picture it? I'm not sure entirely--
Tika followup: No sign at least the last couple of days of any pain at all. She really wants to get up and go go go. Interestingly, though, the more days we have of quietude, the more the dogs seem to expect it. I guess these guys could be couch potatoes given the right environment. Can you picture it? I'm not sure entirely--
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Just Notes
Jake's goopy eyes: Last summer Jake's eyes started being goopy--very goopy--every day. Took him to the vet, who said they looked slightly red and gave me some prescription goop to put into them a couple of times a day. I did for a week or two and saw no difference, so stopped. Yesterday killed two vet visits with one stone (does that metaphor work? Note to self--hmmm--) and took Jake for his annual checkup and shots (a few months late). Vet said his eyes were indeed reddish (if one pulls back the eyelid a bit and peers around behind there), so gave me some more-brutal antigoopyeye ointment to put into his eyes thrice daily. Two days later, and it already seems to me that his eyes have ceased to goop.
Bully Sticks are the gods' gift to dogs for chewing. Very popular amongst the canine set. A little pricey, sadly. But last time I was in AnJan's, they had 3-foot Bully Sticks for not much more than the price of 2 or 3 6" sticks, and I can cut them into 6 pieces with a hacksaw. (See standard bully sticks here.) (What is a bully stick anyway?)
Tika stir-crazy: So it's been 3 days with quite restricted activity. Yikes! Trying to do just tug-o-war, but she really puts her feet into that, too. Was doing some in the yard today--Casey loves to crash into her with his toy while we're doing that--and he hit her foot and she shrieked. Poor girl. Just gave all the dogs about an 8" bully stick--the thickest one for Tika--and Tika was done in a manner of minutes. Jake will be working on his for hours. Now Tika wants me to do something else fun. I want to go to bed. This is so working.
Find-it game: I don't remember whether I've ever done the find-it game with Casey before this last week. The rules are: Dogs sit-stay in one room. Mom hides a tiny Roundup-type dog goodie in the other room at or near floor level. One dog gets to go in and find it. Dog also gets a reward (another tiny goodie) from mom for finding it. Dogs really enjoy this. Gives brain and nose a workout. Casey started out looking for a goodie this week, but would search only for a couple of feet in front of me. So I had to put the goodies fairly close to me and also not too far from the previous goodie so he'd start getting the idea of ranging for it. Dogs and their noses are amazing. You'll often see the dog stop in his/her tracks, sniffing, back up a step, sniff all around, as he zooms in on the goodie behind the table leg. Casey's catching on. Quickly. Amazing how motivating food is.
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| Jake with--oops--goopy eyes--enjoying a Bully Stick. |
Tika stir-crazy: So it's been 3 days with quite restricted activity. Yikes! Trying to do just tug-o-war, but she really puts her feet into that, too. Was doing some in the yard today--Casey loves to crash into her with his toy while we're doing that--and he hit her foot and she shrieked. Poor girl. Just gave all the dogs about an 8" bully stick--the thickest one for Tika--and Tika was done in a manner of minutes. Jake will be working on his for hours. Now Tika wants me to do something else fun. I want to go to bed. This is so working.
Find-it game: I don't remember whether I've ever done the find-it game with Casey before this last week. The rules are: Dogs sit-stay in one room. Mom hides a tiny Roundup-type dog goodie in the other room at or near floor level. One dog gets to go in and find it. Dog also gets a reward (another tiny goodie) from mom for finding it. Dogs really enjoy this. Gives brain and nose a workout. Casey started out looking for a goodie this week, but would search only for a couple of feet in front of me. So I had to put the goodies fairly close to me and also not too far from the previous goodie so he'd start getting the idea of ranging for it. Dogs and their noses are amazing. You'll often see the dog stop in his/her tracks, sniffing, back up a step, sniff all around, as he zooms in on the goodie behind the table leg. Casey's catching on. Quickly. Amazing how motivating food is.
Mammo update
OK, this is still not dog related, but people are asking.
Went in for an ultrasound on a small lump found in mammogram. Ultrasound says it's about 1.5-2 cm lump that the doctor would like a surgeon to take a look at.
This is also something I've done repeatedly; mostly surgeon has said, yeah, it's a lump but nothing interesting, although once did a needle biopsy, which was, yeah, it's a lump but nothing interesting. So I have an appt next week with the surgeon. Kaiser also apparently has a "Mammo Review Board" consisting of radiologist, surgeon, and I'm not sure who all, who decide whether to recommend a biopsy based on mammogram and ultrasound. I'll hear what they have to say when I see the surgeon.
The doctor I spoke with said that the ultrasound report said that it was larger than in previous mammo (although I had thought it was going to take them weeks to get copies of the previous mammos, and they didn't actually say on the report that they had received them) and that it had something like clearly defined edges with indistinct edges (this isn't an exact quote--but doctor read it to me and was as confused as I was).
So--been there, done that.
Went in for an ultrasound on a small lump found in mammogram. Ultrasound says it's about 1.5-2 cm lump that the doctor would like a surgeon to take a look at.
This is also something I've done repeatedly; mostly surgeon has said, yeah, it's a lump but nothing interesting, although once did a needle biopsy, which was, yeah, it's a lump but nothing interesting. So I have an appt next week with the surgeon. Kaiser also apparently has a "Mammo Review Board" consisting of radiologist, surgeon, and I'm not sure who all, who decide whether to recommend a biopsy based on mammogram and ultrasound. I'll hear what they have to say when I see the surgeon.
The doctor I spoke with said that the ultrasound report said that it was larger than in previous mammo (although I had thought it was going to take them weeks to get copies of the previous mammos, and they didn't actually say on the report that they had received them) and that it had something like clearly defined edges with indistinct edges (this isn't an exact quote--but doctor read it to me and was as confused as I was).
So--been there, done that.
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Lucking Out on Forfeiting Entry Fees
Normally, after the closing date for an event, you cannot change or cancel your entry, which means you can't get your fees back if you do. Some clubs are generous if you have a good reason, but sometimes they can't afford to be (long story that I'm not going into).
So I called the Fun Match secretary earlier today and left a message that I won't be coming this weekend and why, believing that I was writing off my entry fees. However, just found this on the web:
So I wouldn't have been doing agility on Saturday, anyway. Whew!
So I called the Fun Match secretary earlier today and left a message that I won't be coming this weekend and why, believing that I was writing off my entry fees. However, just found this on the web:
Unfortuately due to the abnormal rainfall and the rain soaked fields the parks department has cancelled our use of the park. So the fun match will be postponed. We will be shredding your checks.
So I wouldn't have been doing agility on Saturday, anyway. Whew!
Should I Get Serious About Casey?
(Thanks for people's patience--I send personal email and then I steal the text and stick it up in my blog for everyone to read. I keep threatening to get serious about my housemate's Little Black Dog, Casey. He could be fast like Pic (the wonder-PyrShep), I'm thinking, although we have some play/stress issues, I think (he'll play tug of war like crazy, blast thru the tunnel and over a jump, get the toy I toss, and then run into the house so I don't make him work any more). I've hardly spent any time with him on weaving poles. I did finally spend the time over the holidays to progress to nose touches on a target--but he still wants to lie down to do it, and he's still a little iffy on whether he's going for the target or my hand or something else--but I'd say he's up to more than 80% right now. But I obviously have a long way to go to get him onto contacts. But he already has a mostly decent sit-stay (took him a little while to get the idea).
I've been threatening Tika's agility instructor with asking for a separate private class or 2 with Casey for quite a while now and never managed to do it--hmmm, I wonder whether she's got an opening next week, since I won't be doing Tika? :-)
Working with Casey would be much less expensive & time-consuming & stressful for me than getting another dog of my own. So I still haven't decided that I want to do the new-dog-thing right now. But I still want at least 4 years in age between dogs, and Tika won't be 4 til Feb. So that's that. Maybe in April or so I could start looking for a puppy. Maybe. Although I'm not sure what I want.
Tika, for all her agility prowess, has really exhausted me on the topic of new dogs in the household.
I've been threatening Tika's agility instructor with asking for a separate private class or 2 with Casey for quite a while now and never managed to do it--hmmm, I wonder whether she's got an opening next week, since I won't be doing Tika? :-)
Working with Casey would be much less expensive & time-consuming & stressful for me than getting another dog of my own. So I still haven't decided that I want to do the new-dog-thing right now. But I still want at least 4 years in age between dogs, and Tika won't be 4 til Feb. So that's that. Maybe in April or so I could start looking for a puppy. Maybe. Although I'm not sure what I want.
Tika, for all her agility prowess, has really exhausted me on the topic of new dogs in the household.
I'm Going To Go Stir Crazy--
Tika still didn't want to put weight on her foot--at least, until she got excited (I know, I know--that means she was *awake*, right?). She still will go full out running and jumping straight into the air (e.g., when dinner is served), so it's not agonizing.
Went to the vet this morning. There's a small swelling at the front of the wrist. Could be a simple bruise. Could be a bone bruise. Could be a sprain or strain, especially if she slipped on the wet ground and overextended something. Could be a tiny fracture or tiny chip, although he doesn't think so--and he won't even try an x-ray for something like that without anaesthesia--said it's not worth it, they can't get clear enough images for something this subtle, especially with Drama Queen Tika (whines when I touch the sore spot; shrieks and throws herself around and shows teeth when the vet touches it).
So--it's 10 days of rest (argh!?!) and Rimadyl and then gradually increase exercise if it's looking OK.
We'll be skipping our fun match this weekend (my one chance to work on those badly deteriorated start-line stays) and class next week. I hope we'll be good for the Bay Team trial last weekend in January, but I might not know by the closing date...
This was my nightmare when retiring Jake--what if something happens to Tika and I have no agility dog? Whine whine whine-- (or, rather, more like shrieking and throwing myself around--)
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| The injury. Click photo to see larger version. |
Went to the vet this morning. There's a small swelling at the front of the wrist. Could be a simple bruise. Could be a bone bruise. Could be a sprain or strain, especially if she slipped on the wet ground and overextended something. Could be a tiny fracture or tiny chip, although he doesn't think so--and he won't even try an x-ray for something like that without anaesthesia--said it's not worth it, they can't get clear enough images for something this subtle, especially with Drama Queen Tika (whines when I touch the sore spot; shrieks and throws herself around and shows teeth when the vet touches it).
So--it's 10 days of rest (argh!?!) and Rimadyl and then gradually increase exercise if it's looking OK.
We'll be skipping our fun match this weekend (my one chance to work on those badly deteriorated start-line stays) and class next week. I hope we'll be good for the Bay Team trial last weekend in January, but I might not know by the closing date...
This was my nightmare when retiring Jake--what if something happens to Tika and I have no agility dog? Whine whine whine-- (or, rather, more like shrieking and throwing myself around--)
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Nooooooooo! No limping!!!!!
Ohhhh nooooo, Tika is limping! This can't be happening!
During yesterday morning's backyard romp, I kept thinking that I was seeing a limp, but then I'd watch her carefully and she'd look fine. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I'd think I saw a limp again--but she was operating at full-steam-ahead speed and intensity, so I thought I was seeing things.
She yelped once when I started to wipe her feet off. I couldn't find anything, so thought I must've held her foot wrong.
We had a nother play session later in the day. In the evening, watching her around the house, I kept wanting to ask my housemate to watch for a minute to see if she was limping, but then I'd watch closely, and again I'd see nothing when watching directly.
We all went for a really long walk in the evening and she was her usual wild-child self.
About half an hour after we got back, after she'd been lying down, she got up--on 3 legs.
She definitely puts weight on it. Give her an adrenaline rush (for tika, this happens whenever something really exciting happens, like--she's awake) and she walks, runs, pounces, normally. But shortly thereafter, or in the middle, she favors the left front foot. When just standing still briefly, she often just lifts it casually from the floor.
She has been much more subdued, actually, all day--she was not eager to take a flying leap off the bed in the morning, nor to propel herself at jetliner speed out the back door when it first opened. She still wants to play, but then she lies quite quietly for quite a while.
I can find nothing.
We're off to the vet's in the morning. I'm dreading this. Maybe she'll be better by tomorrow.
During yesterday morning's backyard romp, I kept thinking that I was seeing a limp, but then I'd watch her carefully and she'd look fine. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I'd think I saw a limp again--but she was operating at full-steam-ahead speed and intensity, so I thought I was seeing things.
She yelped once when I started to wipe her feet off. I couldn't find anything, so thought I must've held her foot wrong.
We had a nother play session later in the day. In the evening, watching her around the house, I kept wanting to ask my housemate to watch for a minute to see if she was limping, but then I'd watch closely, and again I'd see nothing when watching directly.
We all went for a really long walk in the evening and she was her usual wild-child self.
About half an hour after we got back, after she'd been lying down, she got up--on 3 legs.
She definitely puts weight on it. Give her an adrenaline rush (for tika, this happens whenever something really exciting happens, like--she's awake) and she walks, runs, pounces, normally. But shortly thereafter, or in the middle, she favors the left front foot. When just standing still briefly, she often just lifts it casually from the floor.
She has been much more subdued, actually, all day--she was not eager to take a flying leap off the bed in the morning, nor to propel herself at jetliner speed out the back door when it first opened. She still wants to play, but then she lies quite quietly for quite a while.
I can find nothing.
We're off to the vet's in the morning. I'm dreading this. Maybe she'll be better by tomorrow.
Monday, December 27, 2004
Quick Notes
My comment about the mammogram the other day: I went in for an ultrasound today and the technician said that the radiologist said that they didn't need to do any follow-up today. That's all I know. I think things are probably fine.
Christmas was pleasant other than the fact that I underslept and overate, making me pretty much a wreck by Christmas evening. I got dog toys, dog Christmas ornaments, and a gift certificate to PetCo, so I can go down there shortly and have a grand old time. Several more dragons also joined my household--but that's not dog-related.
Christmas was pleasant other than the fact that I underslept and overate, making me pretty much a wreck by Christmas evening. I got dog toys, dog Christmas ornaments, and a gift certificate to PetCo, so I can go down there shortly and have a grand old time. Several more dragons also joined my household--but that's not dog-related.
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Another Plaque for Jake
Jake's CPE Agility Trial Champion (CATCH) plaque arrived yesterday. It's a lovely thing. Something to hang on the wall to replace hundreds of ribbons.
Sunday, December 19, 2004
Still More Miscellany
Elderly dog sleeps soundly: Jake always used to wake up quickly and easily. Now he sleeps deeply. When I get up in the middle of the night--as in last night, where I had a blooming headache and needed to go get a drink and some assorted lovely drugs--he sleeps through the light turning on, through me getting out of bed and getting my robe and slippers, through Tika getting rowdy on the bed and leaping off, through us both scampering downstairs (Tika more scampering, me more on the staggering side), through the sliding door opening and closing as Tike heads into the yard for a perimeter check.
Jake used to startle to his feet if one touched him while he was sleeping. Several times lately, when I've needed to wake him during the day (as in, "Wake up, Jake, it's time to go to bed"), I've had my hand solidly on his body, rocking him back and forth, without a response for quite some time. It's a very odd thing.
Elderly dog sometimes drags:The housemate & boyfriend took the dogs for a walk yesterday evening while I was out (yes! without the dogbeasts!), and reported that they had to quit a bit early because Jake seemed to be dragging and tired.
I had no such problem with him this morning.
I've mentioned this in previous posts--sometimes when out for a walk, he just slows down and looks like he really doesn't want to keep going. And then the next day he'll be fine.
In the middle of the night last night, he did eventually come downstairs and lay under the table while I nursed my drink and waited for the light and went without the meat and cursed the bread and all that. When it came time to return to my boudoir, he stopped at the bottom of the stairs, looked concerned, started to lift a foot and changed his mind, and just looked at me, tail drooped. So I picked him up and carried him up, depositing him right onto the bed, where he said, "Thanks, that's what I needed," and settled right in to sleep.
This is the second time in the last few weeks. He was never one to suffer being carried around like a lapdog. So this, too, is unusual.
And yet today he was a frisbee-chasing maniac who, in his nonfrisbee interims, gallumphed all over the parkland and hillside.
Eye goop: The last time I had him at the vet--I think because of all the goop that suddenly started appearing in his eyes all the time--the vet said he didn't really see anything but gave me some soothing ointment to apply in case the eyes were irritated. This was months ago. I regularly --daily or twice a day--clear wads of eye-goop the size of jello pudding cups from both eyes. The weather's different, the blooming plantlife is different, I dunno--I thought maybe it was something in the yard (like plunging into the mulch to pounce on a thrown toy) that was aggravating it, but in the one week we were out of town to AZ, his eyes never stopped gooping.
I'd like to know why, at 12.5, this has started happening. It worries me in a vague, I've-got-plenty-of-bigger-worries-like-the-technician's-reactions-to-my-mammo-last-week sort of way.
Jake used to startle to his feet if one touched him while he was sleeping. Several times lately, when I've needed to wake him during the day (as in, "Wake up, Jake, it's time to go to bed"), I've had my hand solidly on his body, rocking him back and forth, without a response for quite some time. It's a very odd thing.
Elderly dog sometimes drags:The housemate & boyfriend took the dogs for a walk yesterday evening while I was out (yes! without the dogbeasts!), and reported that they had to quit a bit early because Jake seemed to be dragging and tired.
I had no such problem with him this morning.
I've mentioned this in previous posts--sometimes when out for a walk, he just slows down and looks like he really doesn't want to keep going. And then the next day he'll be fine.
In the middle of the night last night, he did eventually come downstairs and lay under the table while I nursed my drink and waited for the light and went without the meat and cursed the bread and all that. When it came time to return to my boudoir, he stopped at the bottom of the stairs, looked concerned, started to lift a foot and changed his mind, and just looked at me, tail drooped. So I picked him up and carried him up, depositing him right onto the bed, where he said, "Thanks, that's what I needed," and settled right in to sleep.
This is the second time in the last few weeks. He was never one to suffer being carried around like a lapdog. So this, too, is unusual.
And yet today he was a frisbee-chasing maniac who, in his nonfrisbee interims, gallumphed all over the parkland and hillside.
Eye goop: The last time I had him at the vet--I think because of all the goop that suddenly started appearing in his eyes all the time--the vet said he didn't really see anything but gave me some soothing ointment to apply in case the eyes were irritated. This was months ago. I regularly --daily or twice a day--clear wads of eye-goop the size of jello pudding cups from both eyes. The weather's different, the blooming plantlife is different, I dunno--I thought maybe it was something in the yard (like plunging into the mulch to pounce on a thrown toy) that was aggravating it, but in the one week we were out of town to AZ, his eyes never stopped gooping.
I'd like to know why, at 12.5, this has started happening. It worries me in a vague, I've-got-plenty-of-bigger-worries-like-the-technician's-reactions-to-my-mammo-last-week sort of way.
To The Big Park Today
Drove all 3 dogs to the big park with the hill and the huge grassy areas to play frisbee and to let them run free. Tika was very well behaved. Although she didn't come when called at one point when she got curious about another dog, she did come after a quick sniff and wag. This is the dog who goes ape-sh** on a leash when she sees another dog. There were about 4 other dogs there today at different times and places, and she showed only mild to moderate interest and had to go say a quick "Hi" to two of them.
She came when called almost every time (I was carrying junk food in a bag on my belt). Whenever she'd start to dash in a direction that I found undesireable and called "Tika, this way!", she came this way. Ohhhhhh, how different from 2 years ago!
We played a good game of frisbee (Casey will chase the frisbee and bring it most of the way back, but mostly he wants to hold it and then slam it against Tika when she starts running), then walked around the park. Temperature was in the upper 30s to lower 40s--frost bedecked some sheltered areas of grass--and my feet got thoroughly soaked and very cold. The things I do for a good time.
Then we played a good game of frisbee, discovered that the water fountain wasn't functioning, so the dogs spent a good deal of time munching the long grasses--I suspect primarily for the cool dewey water, then walked around the park. It was otherwise a beautiful sunny morning, just a little hazy. Lots more people there off and on than I'd have expected on a chilly Sunday morning starting at 8 or so.
Then we played a good game of frisbee and walked around the park. My pedometer registered 1.3 miles, but it seems to be registering low lately, so it might have been more--and some of it was up and over the hill, which would be good for my cardiovasculars.
Tika was clearly overheating again. When she's walking on her Gentle Leader, she often rubs her face on lawns. Today she never saw hide nor hair of the GL, but by this time she was rubbing her face and head in all of the dampest, longest grasses, then lying down in other patches. I surmise it was all an effort to cool down. Not that she ever runs out of energy; I'd make some comment to her and she'd put her ears back and leap up into the scootchy I'm-ready-to-play pose, then zoom off in some other direction.
Jake mostly kept an eye on me and kept swooping in for a free goodie. I was only too glad to oblige; as a hard-of-hearing dog, he's better off sticking closer and paying more attention. I practiced recalls with Casey and Tika constantly and relied on Jake watching them for his cues. Even so, once as I surmounted the tippy-top of the hill, where the sides fall away steeply and the dogs can't see me if they're not right with me, Tika and Casey came bounding into sight when I called them, but Jake had vanished. I had to backtrack a bit to see him bounding back around (rather than up) the hill, trying to figure out where I was. Fortunately he saw me bouncing and waving my arms--I was concerned that he'd head off down the hill full tilt thinking I had gone back the way we came.
Then we played a little more frisbee and, an hour or more having passed, I took the sopping wet dogs and the cold-footed mom home.
She came when called almost every time (I was carrying junk food in a bag on my belt). Whenever she'd start to dash in a direction that I found undesireable and called "Tika, this way!", she came this way. Ohhhhhh, how different from 2 years ago!
We played a good game of frisbee (Casey will chase the frisbee and bring it most of the way back, but mostly he wants to hold it and then slam it against Tika when she starts running), then walked around the park. Temperature was in the upper 30s to lower 40s--frost bedecked some sheltered areas of grass--and my feet got thoroughly soaked and very cold. The things I do for a good time.
Then we played a good game of frisbee, discovered that the water fountain wasn't functioning, so the dogs spent a good deal of time munching the long grasses--I suspect primarily for the cool dewey water, then walked around the park. It was otherwise a beautiful sunny morning, just a little hazy. Lots more people there off and on than I'd have expected on a chilly Sunday morning starting at 8 or so.
Then we played a good game of frisbee and walked around the park. My pedometer registered 1.3 miles, but it seems to be registering low lately, so it might have been more--and some of it was up and over the hill, which would be good for my cardiovasculars.
Tika was clearly overheating again. When she's walking on her Gentle Leader, she often rubs her face on lawns. Today she never saw hide nor hair of the GL, but by this time she was rubbing her face and head in all of the dampest, longest grasses, then lying down in other patches. I surmise it was all an effort to cool down. Not that she ever runs out of energy; I'd make some comment to her and she'd put her ears back and leap up into the scootchy I'm-ready-to-play pose, then zoom off in some other direction.
Jake mostly kept an eye on me and kept swooping in for a free goodie. I was only too glad to oblige; as a hard-of-hearing dog, he's better off sticking closer and paying more attention. I practiced recalls with Casey and Tika constantly and relied on Jake watching them for his cues. Even so, once as I surmounted the tippy-top of the hill, where the sides fall away steeply and the dogs can't see me if they're not right with me, Tika and Casey came bounding into sight when I called them, but Jake had vanished. I had to backtrack a bit to see him bounding back around (rather than up) the hill, trying to figure out where I was. Fortunately he saw me bouncing and waving my arms--I was concerned that he'd head off down the hill full tilt thinking I had gone back the way we came.
Then we played a little more frisbee and, an hour or more having passed, I took the sopping wet dogs and the cold-footed mom home.
Thursday, December 16, 2004
About Crate Training
I just wrote all of this elsewhere in response to a comment from someone that he didn't like to lock his dogs up and that was probably why he didn't pursue crate training enough to be successful at it.
One challenge in getting people to crate train successfully is in getting over the idea that one is "locking up" one's dog. There are many reasons as to why it's a good idea to have a dog who is comfortable and relaxed in a crate. The thing to keep in mind is that almost all dogs are most relaxed in an enclosed place. My dogs prefer sleeping under a desk or a table--and if there's a long tablecloth over the table, all the better. The small dog in the house loves to crawl under the bookcase headboard of the bed rather than sleeping on the open floor. One dog liked sleeping in the closet. The psychological key for the human is to realize that one is simply training the dog to use a controlled crate rather than one of their own choosing, just as one trains them to sit, lie down, or stay under control rather than wandering around uncontrolled at all times with behavior of their own choosing. The crate should never be used as a harsh punishment. It should be a safe place for comfortable relaxing, and in that context can occasionally be used for a "time out" in training.
Let one converted dog owner tell her story. (That's me.) When I planned to go to my first dog agility event (not just training at the training facility), I discovered that it was not practical to have my dog on a leash on my wrist at all times. It was a long day, there were other dogs everywhere (and not all of them perfectly behaved), I had things that I needed to do without my dog and there were places where my dog was not allowed (e.g., walking the course ahead of time; cafeteria; restrooms...). Tying the dog up somewhere wasn't practical--other than there being nowhere to tie the dog, even a portable stick-in-the-ground post left the dog exposed to other dogs, other people, object flying in their direction (thrown toys, things blown by the wind, etc.). It just wasn't even an option, especially in crowded conditions with only a few feet of space for each person to set up in.
Plus, in trying to keep the dog with me, he never lay down, never relaxed, was always alert and on guard.
So with great reluctance, not wanting to "lock my dog up" in a crate, I purchased the largest metal exercise pen that I could find--I think about 4 feet by 4 feet. Here's what he did:
Stood up and leaned against the side closest to the door. All day. Sometimes he sat. Mostly he stood up, watching everything that was going on. Eventually I figured out that, if I draped a sheet over the top & sides of the pen, leaving only the front open, he would lie down--against one side of the pen--and sleep off and on.
Huh, so I was lugging around this heavy exercise pen and occupying 16 square feet for a dog who was occupying no more space than all of the other dogs comfortably resting in their crates. So after a year and a half I broke down and bought a crate and taught him what a fun place it was. So, when put into his crate (after his first run of the day, before which he NEVER relaxed), he'd immediately relax, lie down, get comfy, snooze, stretch his legs out.
I was converted.
Since then, I've found that crates are useful almost anywhere I go with my dogs; we've been invited to participate in a wide variety of events. Sometimes we're backstage, where there are 20 or 30 dogs in a space about 50 feet long. You have to have the dogs in crates in that situation. My assorted dogs have had to stay at the vet's for a variety of ailments over the years, and the vets always like them because they don't fight about going into the crates, they don't paw or bite endlessly at the doors, they wait for a release before barging out of the crate, and they relax once they're in there.
In the car, a strapped-in crate is probably the safest way to transport dogs. (Some of my dogs use harnesses instead, but I believe they'd be safer in an accident in a crate.)
At home, I acquired a dog who really does not like small children. After a few thousand good games of fetch, he goes right into his crate, where I can close him in and he can relax because he doesn't have to be on guard against the small children--and I can relax because he's not on guard against the small children.
I have an extremely energetic younger dog. When she can't manage enough self-control to be around guests, she can go into her crate. When she was much younger and I didn't know what she might pick up and chew up, I could put her into her crate while I worked at my desk and neither of us were stressed about life, the universe, and everything.
Most dogs sleep most of the day anyway--if you're home a lot and not active, just watch: I believe that 18 hours or more of a dog's day is spent snoozing. That's even for energetic, athletic dogs. They could just as easily be snoozing in a crate as under your feet at your desk.
One challenge in getting people to crate train successfully is in getting over the idea that one is "locking up" one's dog. There are many reasons as to why it's a good idea to have a dog who is comfortable and relaxed in a crate. The thing to keep in mind is that almost all dogs are most relaxed in an enclosed place. My dogs prefer sleeping under a desk or a table--and if there's a long tablecloth over the table, all the better. The small dog in the house loves to crawl under the bookcase headboard of the bed rather than sleeping on the open floor. One dog liked sleeping in the closet. The psychological key for the human is to realize that one is simply training the dog to use a controlled crate rather than one of their own choosing, just as one trains them to sit, lie down, or stay under control rather than wandering around uncontrolled at all times with behavior of their own choosing. The crate should never be used as a harsh punishment. It should be a safe place for comfortable relaxing, and in that context can occasionally be used for a "time out" in training.
Let one converted dog owner tell her story. (That's me.) When I planned to go to my first dog agility event (not just training at the training facility), I discovered that it was not practical to have my dog on a leash on my wrist at all times. It was a long day, there were other dogs everywhere (and not all of them perfectly behaved), I had things that I needed to do without my dog and there were places where my dog was not allowed (e.g., walking the course ahead of time; cafeteria; restrooms...). Tying the dog up somewhere wasn't practical--other than there being nowhere to tie the dog, even a portable stick-in-the-ground post left the dog exposed to other dogs, other people, object flying in their direction (thrown toys, things blown by the wind, etc.). It just wasn't even an option, especially in crowded conditions with only a few feet of space for each person to set up in.
Plus, in trying to keep the dog with me, he never lay down, never relaxed, was always alert and on guard.
So with great reluctance, not wanting to "lock my dog up" in a crate, I purchased the largest metal exercise pen that I could find--I think about 4 feet by 4 feet. Here's what he did:
Stood up and leaned against the side closest to the door. All day. Sometimes he sat. Mostly he stood up, watching everything that was going on. Eventually I figured out that, if I draped a sheet over the top & sides of the pen, leaving only the front open, he would lie down--against one side of the pen--and sleep off and on.
Huh, so I was lugging around this heavy exercise pen and occupying 16 square feet for a dog who was occupying no more space than all of the other dogs comfortably resting in their crates. So after a year and a half I broke down and bought a crate and taught him what a fun place it was. So, when put into his crate (after his first run of the day, before which he NEVER relaxed), he'd immediately relax, lie down, get comfy, snooze, stretch his legs out.
I was converted.
Since then, I've found that crates are useful almost anywhere I go with my dogs; we've been invited to participate in a wide variety of events. Sometimes we're backstage, where there are 20 or 30 dogs in a space about 50 feet long. You have to have the dogs in crates in that situation. My assorted dogs have had to stay at the vet's for a variety of ailments over the years, and the vets always like them because they don't fight about going into the crates, they don't paw or bite endlessly at the doors, they wait for a release before barging out of the crate, and they relax once they're in there.
In the car, a strapped-in crate is probably the safest way to transport dogs. (Some of my dogs use harnesses instead, but I believe they'd be safer in an accident in a crate.)
At home, I acquired a dog who really does not like small children. After a few thousand good games of fetch, he goes right into his crate, where I can close him in and he can relax because he doesn't have to be on guard against the small children--and I can relax because he's not on guard against the small children.
I have an extremely energetic younger dog. When she can't manage enough self-control to be around guests, she can go into her crate. When she was much younger and I didn't know what she might pick up and chew up, I could put her into her crate while I worked at my desk and neither of us were stressed about life, the universe, and everything.
Most dogs sleep most of the day anyway--if you're home a lot and not active, just watch: I believe that 18 hours or more of a dog's day is spent snoozing. That's even for energetic, athletic dogs. They could just as easily be snoozing in a crate as under your feet at your desk.
Miscellaneous Ramblings Again
- Casey loves to have something in his mouth. When I head for the back yard, he scoops up whatever luscious-looking toy is in the vicinity. This is promising. If it's a dumbell-style squeaky, we can easily play tug of war.
- Casey seems to enjoy tug-of-war, and he runs like lightning through the tunnels and over the jumps, but as soon as I throw the toy afterwards, he scootches up onto the porch and hides so I can't make him exert himself again. I'm not sure whether it's the physical or mental activity that concerns him.
- Jake snores. Not a lot, but he always has and he does more--and more often--as time goes on. And he's not overweight, either.
- Before I started agility, I was amazed at dogs that would answer "the call of nature" on command. Now I realize that it's a necessity for most activities other than letting your dog have free run of the yard. And it wasn't that hard to teach. In fact, Jake can produce #1 or #2, even if in minute quantities, whenever he thinks he's supposed to. How come I can't train myself the same way?
- Jake and Casey have had a couple of spats since we returned from the Nationals. Casey had the whole house and everyone in it (housemate and two guests, one of whom slept in my room) to himself for an entire week. He was deliriously happy to see Tika again, and quite dismayed that Jake came with the package. I found a fresh scab in Jake's ear the day after we got back. And Jake was very concerned, too. They both stalked around the house, trying to avoid or intimidate each other, for about 2 days, and Jake acted more like the intruder--stuck close to me and to my bedroom, as though conceding that, for the moment, Casey was the primary resident.
Monday, November 29, 2004
Sunday, November 28, 2004
CPE Results--Not Always Like What I'd Like
So Jake had a good day Friday, but on Saturday--now with everyone watching after I announced that he was retiring with 6 Championships after 7 years of competition (with me), 116 trials, and 876 runs--we couldn't get a Q worth beans. We couldn't hardly even get started. Standard was iffy with a huge flyoff on the dogwalk. In Jumpers and Snooker, he didn't stay at the start line, putting me in very bad positions and ending up with almost instantaneous offcourses. And Jumpers and Snooker are what he has always done best in, with the most legs in those of any classes in all organizations.
Grumble grumble grumble. Tika was wired and had problems with her start line. I pulled her off for the first time in a full year for taking off without even a hint of a release from me, and pulled her off again when she persistently scootched forward after repeated "Sit" commands until she was a mere foot from the first jump. Then we had offcourses galore, which isn't normal for us, but I think I've discovered that Tika has an Overdrive setting that I am, in fact, not always tapping into! I thought I had just learned better how to handle her speed, but I think what's also happened is that she has settled into a comfortable fast speed and I didn't realize that she didn't have the accelerator floored.
We will have to experiment more.
Grumble grumble grumble. Tika was wired and had problems with her start line. I pulled her off for the first time in a full year for taking off without even a hint of a release from me, and pulled her off again when she persistently scootched forward after repeated "Sit" commands until she was a mere foot from the first jump. Then we had offcourses galore, which isn't normal for us, but I think I've discovered that Tika has an Overdrive setting that I am, in fact, not always tapping into! I thought I had just learned better how to handle her speed, but I think what's also happened is that she has settled into a comfortable fast speed and I didn't realize that she didn't have the accelerator floored.
We will have to experiment more.
| Tika | ||
|---|---|---|
| Friday | Standard: Q/2nd | Scootching forward determinedly at start line each time that I started to move forward. Several harsh Sits finally got her to stay in place. No bars down but she was one wired doggie and we missed a few things because my timing was off so we had to circle around and retry. Still her course time was mighty fast. |
| Colors: NT | She still needs 2 out of 2 at Level 3 to advance to Level 4. We can't get the darned legs because she almost always knocks a bar. Today, she took off from the start without waiting for me so I pulled her off the course. | |
| Wildcard: NT | This is the only other Level 3 class she's still in; needs one more of these, also. But, not to be...she skootched right up to the first jump before staying in a sit and I took her off. | |
| Saturday | Standard: Q/1st | Managed to finally get her to stay in one place in a sit. We were a disaster again in terms of smoothness, but very fast and again we earned a qualifying score. |
| Snooker: Bomb. | I led way out, all the way across the snooker field, and she stayed beautifully. I released her and she rocketed towards me perfectly, and I spun perfectly to send her into the first tunnel--and someone I was aimed wrong or spun wrong and she went into an off-course end of the tunnel. Game over. I pushed her immediately to the table to stop the clock, and hoped that our consolation prize would be the absolutely fastest Snooker time for the day of all dogs--at 5.83 seconds--but, sadly, our teammate Mercy from the night before started on the same jump but took an offcourse jump only halfway to the tunnel, putting them closer to the table, so they beat us by .3 seconds. (But Tika traveled twice as far for those .3 seconds--;-) .) | |
| Jumpers: Bomb. | Very very fast. Jumpers is the third thing that we most need legs in because she keeps knocking bars. On this course, instead of taking challenging (for me) front-crosses to pull her to challenging sides of the tunnels, I used our well-practiced call-her-name-and-she-looks-at-me, wait until she has veered towards the correct end of the tunnel and let her go. Worked like a charm for the first tunnel; released her too soon for the second tunnel and we were offcourse again. Sigh. But she had a really fast time! And (dagnabbit nagdabbit) no bars down. | Jake |
| Friday | Standard: Q/2nd | Pretty fast, almost popped the dogwalk but the judge gave it to us. Some wide turns where he couldn't hear or see me, but we survived. |
| Colors: Q/2nd | A fairly simple course that we also made it through by the skin of our teeth. Very challenging running a deaf dog who doesn't realize he's deaf. | |
| Wildcard: Q/1st | Very nicely and smoothly executed for a change. | |
| Saturday | Standard | Made it all the way through the course, veering on the edge of miscommunication and then the dogwalk was the next to the last obstacle--I yelled "Contact!" at the top of my lungs in plenty of time, which apparently made him leap into thin air at exactly the point he was, which was only halfway down the ramp. Did so very happily. The combination of my full-gut yell and his aerobatic effort got a huge laugh from the audience--and a missed-contact fault from the judge. |
| Snooker: BOMB | Didn't stay at the start line on a long lead-out. Didn't even get a third of the way there. And that sucks, because one of the things that has always made him a great Snooker dog is my ability to lead out to any old wild and random far-side obstacle and have him come straight to me. So I had to juggle him around to try to keep him from going offcourse, but when I sent him (from too far away) to the tunnel I wanted, he took the offcourse end. Sigh. | |
| Jumpers: BOMB | Didn't stay at the start line on a course that was very tight and twisty and absolutely required that I be doing front-crosses to keep the deaf dog's head turned in my direction. Rear-crosses would be fatal very quickly and he put me in the position of starting with rear crosses from which I couldn't recover in time to prevent an offcourse almost immediately. Fast, though. | |
Top Turkey and Slop Turkey
So it was Jake's last trial, so of course we went out in a blaze of glory--right?
Friday he did OK. Out of 3 classes, earned 3 Qualifying scores, but only one good enough for a first place. Then, Friday evening, we teamed up with a very fast little Cattle Dog rescue (Indy) and a very fast little Sheltie (Siggi) for WAG's Turkey Trot, a relay in which one dog does a set of jumps, another does weaves and contacts, and the third does tunnels. They divided teams into small, medium, and large groups and were awarding a single Top Turkey Team award in each category. I told my teammates that Jake had slowed down a lot in tunnels and that I didn't think they'd want jake doing contacts, so we'd take the jumps. (I had to jump him at his standard 16" height even though he was running at 12" during the day.)
I almost forgot where I was on course and started to do a front cross to the outside of the course (duh!?) but fortunately there was nowhere for Jake to go offcourse and we picked up his slightly wide turn and finished the jumping section just fine. Our teammates were pretty awesome.
We had to wait until all the teams had run and the results were tabulated, and then they announced that Jake's team had won! Wahoo! Somehow appropriate for his last trial. We earned a lovely ceramic turkey stuffed with human and dog toys and goodies. (Turkey especially appropriate, since the day before I hosted 19 family and friends here for dinner and realized that I have absolutely no Thanksgiving themed decorations. Now I have one--) We also earned a Top Turkey badge that we had to wear for the rest of the weekend or risk wearing The Silly Hat. The tricky part was the dog biscuit glued to the badge--our dogs (and everyone else's) kept trying to munch them, and then there was the question: was wearing it into the ring considered to be having food in the ring?
Tika teamed with other longtime friends Spike the BorderNewf and Mercy the Terv (team named Tika's Merciful Spike). Tika did the weaves and contacts. The contacts consisted of two teeters and an Aframe, intermingled with two sets of 6-pole weaves, basically in a circle. I promised to run her with Steeplechase contacts, which means that I released her the instant that her paws hit the two-on-two-off position.
So--Mercy did her jumps perfectly, although I had to wait before starting Tika while Linda got Mercy into a controlled Down (otherwise she'd have probably followed Tika oncourse) and then while Linda ran over to me with the rubber chicken baton. A few seconds wasted--but not wasted if we avoided a fault for having 2 dogs on course.
Then I released a revved up Tika. She hit her first set of weaves like a banshee, perfectly entered and superfast. Slammed down the first teeter and I released her. Hit the next weaves at almost a 90-degree angle to the left perfectly and zipped through them; slammed the next teeter and I released her to the Aframe--and she left the yellow zone on the way down without bothering hitting the ground with her front feet. Which means that the tire--NOT part of our section of the course--which I knew during the walkthrough would tempt her--drew her so fast to it that my "Come! COME!" had no effect and she went through it for a 10-point offcourse. Argh! Then Spike whipped cheerfully through his tunnels and we were done. 12 teams in the large-dog category and I had just blown it with the offcourse.
Turns out that we had the second-fastest time of the large-dog teams, with just over 38 seconds (which is d***ed fast for 3 separate dogs with a baton change and all those obstacles), about 3 seconds slower than the fastest team. The extra time that Tika took for the tire might have closed that gap, or it might not have. Hard to say. But the 10-point fault (scored as time plus faults) dropped us to--only 4th place! (Which gives you some idea of how blazing fast the first 4 teams were compared to the final 8, which had to be at least 10 seconds slower than we were to still place behind us with our 10 faults.)
So no Top Turkey for Tika's team, but I was very pleased with the speed of her course and with her weave entries.
Friday he did OK. Out of 3 classes, earned 3 Qualifying scores, but only one good enough for a first place. Then, Friday evening, we teamed up with a very fast little Cattle Dog rescue (Indy) and a very fast little Sheltie (Siggi) for WAG's Turkey Trot, a relay in which one dog does a set of jumps, another does weaves and contacts, and the third does tunnels. They divided teams into small, medium, and large groups and were awarding a single Top Turkey Team award in each category. I told my teammates that Jake had slowed down a lot in tunnels and that I didn't think they'd want jake doing contacts, so we'd take the jumps. (I had to jump him at his standard 16" height even though he was running at 12" during the day.)
I almost forgot where I was on course and started to do a front cross to the outside of the course (duh!?) but fortunately there was nowhere for Jake to go offcourse and we picked up his slightly wide turn and finished the jumping section just fine. Our teammates were pretty awesome.
 |
| The Top Turkey award, with the Top Turkey badge clipped to the front. |
We had to wait until all the teams had run and the results were tabulated, and then they announced that Jake's team had won! Wahoo! Somehow appropriate for his last trial. We earned a lovely ceramic turkey stuffed with human and dog toys and goodies. (Turkey especially appropriate, since the day before I hosted 19 family and friends here for dinner and realized that I have absolutely no Thanksgiving themed decorations. Now I have one--) We also earned a Top Turkey badge that we had to wear for the rest of the weekend or risk wearing The Silly Hat. The tricky part was the dog biscuit glued to the badge--our dogs (and everyone else's) kept trying to munch them, and then there was the question: was wearing it into the ring considered to be having food in the ring?
Tika teamed with other longtime friends Spike the BorderNewf and Mercy the Terv (team named Tika's Merciful Spike). Tika did the weaves and contacts. The contacts consisted of two teeters and an Aframe, intermingled with two sets of 6-pole weaves, basically in a circle. I promised to run her with Steeplechase contacts, which means that I released her the instant that her paws hit the two-on-two-off position.
So--Mercy did her jumps perfectly, although I had to wait before starting Tika while Linda got Mercy into a controlled Down (otherwise she'd have probably followed Tika oncourse) and then while Linda ran over to me with the rubber chicken baton. A few seconds wasted--but not wasted if we avoided a fault for having 2 dogs on course.
Then I released a revved up Tika. She hit her first set of weaves like a banshee, perfectly entered and superfast. Slammed down the first teeter and I released her. Hit the next weaves at almost a 90-degree angle to the left perfectly and zipped through them; slammed the next teeter and I released her to the Aframe--and she left the yellow zone on the way down without bothering hitting the ground with her front feet. Which means that the tire--NOT part of our section of the course--which I knew during the walkthrough would tempt her--drew her so fast to it that my "Come! COME!" had no effect and she went through it for a 10-point offcourse. Argh! Then Spike whipped cheerfully through his tunnels and we were done. 12 teams in the large-dog category and I had just blown it with the offcourse.
Turns out that we had the second-fastest time of the large-dog teams, with just over 38 seconds (which is d***ed fast for 3 separate dogs with a baton change and all those obstacles), about 3 seconds slower than the fastest team. The extra time that Tika took for the tire might have closed that gap, or it might not have. Hard to say. But the 10-point fault (scored as time plus faults) dropped us to--only 4th place! (Which gives you some idea of how blazing fast the first 4 teams were compared to the final 8, which had to be at least 10 seconds slower than we were to still place behind us with our 10 faults.)
So no Top Turkey for Tika's team, but I was very pleased with the speed of her course and with her weave entries.
Jake's Last CPE--and Last, Period--Trial
 |
| The cake came with two flowers and a yellow border. I did the rest All By Myself onsite among course maps and curious competitors. |
I suppose it's still legal to enter him in maybe a run a day or so. The question remains what will I do with him on agility weekends--leave him home or take him with us? I've never taken any of my dogs anywhere without the others along. This is a mistake--take my advice and often do things separately with your dogs so that they get used to it from the beginning. I don't think he'll be happy about being left behind, but he'll probably be fine here hanging out with the housemate (I wouldn't leave him here unattended, certainly).
Will I be fine leaving him behind? If there's noplace at a site where I can run him off leash to play frisbee, it seems silly to take him with me. But he's still so active it's hard to really picture him being retired. And I still haven't decided whether to keep taking him to weekly classes.
We met with a dog chiropractor at the end of the trial. She had watched him run and asked why I was retiring him. I gave her my list of Whys and she said that I know my dog best and have to make my own decision, but be sure to keep him very active because that's the best way to keep the arthritis at bay. She suggested, for example, any exercises that involve his back legs, including simply walking backwards. That's no problem for Jake--who, at the USDAA nationals, did his best to walk backwards in front of me all the way from the far inside corner of the crating building, across the parking lot, down the stairs, and across the lawn. Down the stairs was a bit of a challenge, but in fact up the stairs would be a good strengthening exercise. We'll see--
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Agility Dog Gets Faster
Our instructor quizzed us in class today on how fast our dogwalks and weave poles are. For Tika, I said confidently that the dogwalk was about 3 seconds and the weaves also 3 seconds. (The 3-second dogwalk was an improvement over where we were--um, hmm, OK, it was April at Power Paws camp the last time I analyzed a lot of our object speeds, where I think her dogwalk was 3.5 to 4 seconds because she slowed down on the down ramp--but I've checked periodically since.)
I was the only one other than the instructor who really had any idea about our own dogs' times.
Her weave poles were consistently right at 3 seconds. This hasn't improved much over time; I was using 3 seconds as a rule of thumb back at Power Paws camp. I think she did the 60-weave-pole Challenge in 18.x, but I'd expect the dog to slow a bit through that many poles. And I've been trying to really push her and reward her right at the end of the weaves while practicing in the yard. Sigh. Time to push harder--instructor's younger dog was about 2.4 and a couple of the other border collies were around 2.8.
Her dogwalk was consistently 2.5! This is much better, and I think she's probably even faster in competition. I need to review the nationals tapes from the other week with my stopwatch in hand and see how fast she was on the obstacles there.
She's also the only one in class, including the instructor's dog, who drove down to the contact in the same amount of time when the handler (me) stopped 10 feet before the end of the ramp. I wasn't positive she'd do it, although I do try to push that behavior during practice all the time--so I was glad that she actually demonstrated it. Still-- instructor's dog was about 2 seconds with handler running with her, and dropped to about 2.4 (added an extra stride across the dogwalk) when she stopped early, so even so they're beating our time. Keep pushing, pushing, pushing...
I was the only one other than the instructor who really had any idea about our own dogs' times.
Her weave poles were consistently right at 3 seconds. This hasn't improved much over time; I was using 3 seconds as a rule of thumb back at Power Paws camp. I think she did the 60-weave-pole Challenge in 18.x, but I'd expect the dog to slow a bit through that many poles. And I've been trying to really push her and reward her right at the end of the weaves while practicing in the yard. Sigh. Time to push harder--instructor's younger dog was about 2.4 and a couple of the other border collies were around 2.8.
Her dogwalk was consistently 2.5! This is much better, and I think she's probably even faster in competition. I need to review the nationals tapes from the other week with my stopwatch in hand and see how fast she was on the obstacles there.
She's also the only one in class, including the instructor's dog, who drove down to the contact in the same amount of time when the handler (me) stopped 10 feet before the end of the ramp. I wasn't positive she'd do it, although I do try to push that behavior during practice all the time--so I was glad that she actually demonstrated it. Still-- instructor's dog was about 2 seconds with handler running with her, and dropped to about 2.4 (added an extra stride across the dogwalk) when she stopped early, so even so they're beating our time. Keep pushing, pushing, pushing...
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Traveling Trivia
From San Jose to Scottsdale
We left San Jose at 1:00 on Tuesday afternoon. To avoid the hellhole of 6:00 L.A. commute traffic, we took (85 to 101 to 152 over Pacheco Pass) to I-5 to CA-58 to I-40 (via 15) to Needles, where we stopped for the night around 9:45. The next day, we headed south from Needles on 95 to I-10, then swooped around Phoenix on the 101 loop to Scottsdale.Mileage: 787. Hours driving at or near speed limit: 12.
Stops: 6, including: Needles overnight (got gas, too, and dinner--which was a bit problematic since everything near our hotel closed at 10:00), 2 other gas/food stops, 2 rest areas for us and the dogs, and a lovely half hour spent in the cool desert sunshine on 95, waiting for an escort through a construction zone; everyone got out of their cars and wandered around on the 2-lane road, craning necks to try to see over the next hill over which the line of stopped vehicles continued.
As we headed over Tehachapi pass in the dark, oohing and ahhing at all of the brilliant stars that our urban lights generally drown out, we stopped briefly and I was delighted to see the Milky Way in its pale glory, which I haven't seen in a good many years. Orion rose slowly in the east ahead of us, and I swear that with all the stars visible, you can actually see the outline of the entire man down to his fingerprints. Jackie said that the desert is actually quite beautiful when it's light and you can see it.
The drive from Needles along 95 was beautiful indeed; interesting mountain ranges of not more that a couple or three sharp and rugged mountains each; strangely shaped yucca of various types; saguaro cacti, mostly young (less than a hundred years or so) since most within our view had very few arms and even then mostly small; and the intriguing ocatillo everywhere.
From Scottsdale to San Jose
Because we left WestWorld at 6:30, we figured we'd be heading through L.A. around midnight and could take the slightly faster route through the L.A. area. We were right. We took I-10 to I-210 to I-5 (and back across Pacheco Pass, etc., just in time to catch a little bit of morning commute traffic headed from Gilroy up 101 towards San Jose.Mileage: 741. Hours driving at or near speed limit: 11.
Stops: 10, including: Meet my cousin just off the freeway in phoenix for dinner, then get gas; one hour to fix the tire blow-out; 8 other rest and/or gas stops, mostly for me and Jackie to switch drivers and stretch our legs. After about 10:30 the dogs didn't even look interested in getting up; they are, after all, creatures of habit and this was all well within their sleep-through-the-night time.
I took over driving around dawn at the John "Chuck" Erreca rest area south of 152, and the scenery was stunning. I had my camera with me, but there were really no places to pull over. Tendrils of fog lay among the valleys, fields, and orchards; the deciduous leaves were all turning shades of red and yellow, so the vineyards and the rows of nut trees had an unusual beauty; and the rising sun bathed everything in a pale orange glow. Every time I wanted to stop, I couldn't find even a wide enough shoulder to feel comfortable about pulling over, so I have NO photos. Guess i'm not yet a Real Photographer--who cares if one risks death for a chance at a stunning scenic shot?
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