Friday, January 29, 2010

Still A Ways To Go

Abby had a huge break -through last night in class - she got on the pause table! I was so proud I almost cried. We have been working on the table for MONTHS and we were hardly any closer then the day we started. . .but everything came together yesterday and she hopped right up there and did a down!

It is funny to watch Abby run some of the more "scary" obstacles without a care in the world, but something as banal as a table and her world comes crashing down. To be fair, the table is a bit higher in class than it would be in a trial - but it is no higher than our bed at home that she takes a running leap and almost flies OFF of! Abby's main fear of the table is that is moves. The legs are interchangeable to account for the height differences in dogs and the legs make the table a bit wobbly...and a bit wobbly from my perspective means the world is crashing down around Abby.... and I have to spend months trying to convince her to even get close to it.

Abby has come so far in the short period of time that we have been together, but I know that she still has a long way to go. A year and a half ago I would never have asked any of this from her - let alone even consider asking her more more. But as our relationship has grown, so has her confidence. And as her confidence has grown, she continues to amaze even me at what she can accomplish. Our last agility obstacle is the teeter. . .a few weeks ago I wanted to give up training it because she was so terrified of it. But after working with her consistently I can actually get her to take treats near it! And yesterday she put her foot on it - twice! I think that it might be another year before we can even do a baby height teeter, but that is ok. We are still working together and that is what this is all about.

Terri Arnold said "What you get in the ring is a
byproduct of the relationship you have with your dog"


Abby and I are building our relationship every day through training, and I think that our (very teeny) accomplishments, in and out of an agility ring, have shown that we make a great team.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Video Practice

Here is a quick video of Abby and I warming up at home. Try to ignore that cat pajama bottoms and the bath robe...

I should also mention that this is my first foray into video editing... and it is VERY rough... I was just trying to figure out how this whole thing worked!



Remember, you weren't laughing AT me, you were laughing WITH me... and, in this case, totally true

Smart Dog

Abby and I will soon be starting a new venture - RALLY-O!!!

I am very excited, yet still nervous. I am super excited because Abby learns quick and loves all the "clicks" she gets for being right. We practice regularly and are starting to turn things up a notch and rewarding for correct placement, not just correct behavior. She is doing really well - if not still adding a left turn in the middle of some things occasionally. My main concern is whether or not abby will do well in class. Abby is always going to have a hard time in new situations, and will sometimes stress to the point of not functioning (that's why we've been going to agility trials for months and months before we even considered training!) I explained all this to the teacher in hopes that she is a bit easy on us the first class. Abby knows most of the advanced rally signs at home and in comfortable environments, but I'll be surprised if she can handle a basic finish that first day of class...

My training goal these past few weeks has been getting her on more verbal commands. I have a tendency to use signals - even very slight ones...and Abby is smart enough to pick up on the verbals... so I really need to trust her and our training and push her to the next level. We recently started learning a standing down. I was afraid that this might be hard for her since it is a completely new behavior, but she actually picked it up quicker then I ever imagined (once again!) I think that part of it has to do with her body structure. It seems easier for her to down from a stand then to sit and down.

Regardless of how she does, I know that she will (eventually) have fun. I keep saying that I really should do obedience with her...now this is our chance to see how she does.


all that's left for us is tracking. . .

I need a higher paying job. . .

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

I Have Great Dogs

. . . even if I don't always think so . . .

Things have been super crazy/busy/stressful for the past few weeks at work and I really needed a vacation. I needed to get away somewhere quiet with the dogs and completely decompress. After thinking it over and checking dogfriendly.com I found a nice little inn on a beach in northern, northern CA called Cleone Gardens Inn. It is the perfect get-away and they really are very dog friendly. Not just semi-dog-friendly... the real dog-friendly where they let the dogs up on the bed and the couch and give you bowls and towels and cookies for your dogs. The dog-friendly where they greet your dog before they greet you . . . the kind of place that makes me feel at home because that is how my own home truly is.

The dogs were perfect and had a great time. We spent a lot of time watching bad tv, reading books, and walking the beach. Pocket loves the beach. I think that it is her favorite place to be. All she wants to do is run, run, run. Mole likes the smells. Abby is no longer afraid of the beach.. and I think that is the most I can hope for on her second trip there! While there I tried to get some good photos of the kids, but I couldn't seem to get one where their tails weren't wagging constantly.






Don't expect any photos of Abby's tail wagging...she didn't wag it once on any of our walks while we were AT the beach... but it wasn't tucked up either, so I think that we are making progress...

Since I had all the time in the world (and a few cookies) I thought that I would try for a family photo. Here are the out takes:


two


plus two


equals three


wait, lets try that again


One more time

One


plus two


equals. . . one dog and two aliens.... (they're back!)



ok, ok. . .we did get ONE good photo


All in all, I had a great weekend. And it was nice having Abby along for a vacation. She hasn't gotten to come before because she really isn't trustworthy... but I had the time to take things slow with her and I really want her to start being able to come on the few vacations we actually get to take. She seemed to enjoy herself at some points, and she wasn't stressed out during the rest of it, so I think that she will be coming from now on. I really do have great dogs, and it is times like these where their wonderful personalities and great behavior, and stability really show. I did have a nice, relaxing time, but more than that, I was proud of my kids... and having the chance to get away with them means more to me than anything

Saturday, January 02, 2010

Reading Deliberately

I was just getting ready to start a new book but I couldn't seem to get motivated. Part of it could be the size of the book itself - the top three books on my TBR pile are 1000 pages long, but I think that part of it is that I am just not ready to have new characters enter my life. That may seem weird to some non-readers, but people who fall in love with books know exactly what I am talking about.

Yesterday evening, during the hunt for ice cream, I came upon the decision that I am going to take this year and re-read a lot of my favorite books that I haven't had the chance to re-read because there are so many other great reads out there. I love to read old books and perhaps find something I missed the first time.

Later last night I was reading The Book Lady's blog and saw that she and some friends were going to spend the year reading deliberately. They were going to read books that they wanted to read, not just read books because they had to for some arbitrary purpose. They are each choosing which books to read for different reasons, but all of the reasons are good reasons to them.

I think that this is a great idea. Often times we start reading a book because someone tells us "you have to read this book" or "this book will change your life" or "this is a great author, you have to read her" etc, etc. And while some of those books may be great reads, and some may change our lives, there are so many other great books out there that we have been wanting to read but keep getting pushed aside for someone else's idea of a great book.


After thinking it over, I think that my decision about my reading falls under the category of reading deliberately. I am sure that I will read lots of books that I haven't read before, and that is ok. The main goal is to read what YOU want to read. And looking at my books shelf, I can easily spot 10 books that I love and have wanted to re-read, but never quite found the time...