Laughable

I totally love this dog, but I can't help but laugh when I see this

Dave Mills did a wonderful job shooting him last weekend, but Sniper just isn't as graceful as Abby is when she jumps. He tries so hard to be a good dog, and he is, but he is still a big galoof most of the time. Here are some other photos from Dave last weekend

 You can tell he really wants to go, go go!

He takes off running much like a swimmer - one giant leap and he is off!

I really should stop making this dog do agility. You can see how miserable he is

Abby Update

It's been crazy over here with FOUR dogs and work, and it's been quite awhile since I've given an Abby update:

Abby seems to be slowing down a bit and hasn't seemed to really enjoy classes or run thrus or trials as much as she once did. She isn't demanding that I train her or walk her or give her food right this second. I think that some of this can be attributed to age and the general slowing of her body, but some of it has to do with what we are learning and how we are training

Abby is only 7 years old, but she is an old seven. She has arthritis in her elbows and hips, and she has degeneration in her spine. I see her having a harder time sitting or getting up after a nap. She naps more and more. Abby is still trying to recover after her surgery over two weeks ago. She led a hard life before she came to me and I know that our time together is going to be shorter than I will like because her body isn't going to last as long I hope.

Abby doesn't seem to enjoy training as much because what we are learning is SO BORING! Actually, it's not boring to me, but it is boring to Abby because she already knows it. Abby already knows sit and down and stay and come and get in. What we spend most of our time learning is doing it better and faster and with more precision. Abby doesn't do well with drilling and she really doesn't do well with being *wrong*, so this type of training isn't only stressful, but is also not FUN for her. Also, some of what we are working on is down right uncomfortable for her as a huge part of our training involves distance work and stays - AND putting something in her mouth!

I've been contemplating taking Abby out of classes for awhile, but then Sniper came into our lives and since he needs to work, it made sense to keep Abby in classes awhile longer. She seems to enjoy our one-on-one time and she LOVES the cookies, so why not keep at it for a bit and see if things turn around with some more time and more cookies.

In the mean time, Abby attended an agility fun match and did a jumpers run! Abby loves to jump and had a blast when she was out there. She did longer sequences than I planned because she was having such a great time and was actually DRIVING to the jumps! After about 15 or so jumps, Abby decided that she was done, and that was ok with me. I was so happy to see that after over a year and a half of not training in agility, she took to it like she had never had the time off. I can't help but think that if I had only gotten her a few years earlier, she would have done really well in this sport - or at least would've had a ton of fun! Unfortunately I did not get any videos of her as all my friends were running their large dogs on a different course; but Dave Mills got some amazing photos of her!

Fun Match with Giant Brownish-Red Dog

If the title doesn't make sense to you, it's because you've never lived with a red-headed dog. And if you, like me, have said you will NEVER own a red-head but end up living with one anyway, you will understand the title completely! For the rest of you out there. . . I hope you never have the "joy" of living with a red-head!

Sniper had his first fun match today and he was A-mazing! Not only was this a new environment with new people and new dogs, but this is also a very new sport to him. He has only been doing this for about two months! I entered him in two jumpers runs because his contacts aren't solid enough for a standard run and his teeter is practically non-existent at this point. He is weaving, but we are still training and I don't want to push him on 12 poles. My main goal for today was to have fun and to tire him out! I think that we succeeded on both accounts.

Here are two videos of sniper's jumper's runs. I only worked a few jumps in sequence choosing to reward frequently. Looking back, I probably could have pushed him a bit more, but I'd rather over reward and have fun then under reward and get mistakes later on. He knocked a few bars and it's pretty clear that most of those are my fault as I stopped short or called him mid-jump. There was one jump that he didn't end up taking that I didn't notice until I actually saw the video and while I think I set him up properly for it, I think that we don't have enough lateral distance for him to have taken the jump. This dog watches my body movements like a hawk and I'm still learning to adjust for that.






Abby ran in a jumper's run too, but unfortunately it want's caught on video. I'm hoping that we got some photos; but I'll blog about that soon enough.

He Weaves!

Agility with a giant dog is very different than agility a small dog. Besides the size difference, training sniper in agility is very different than training Abby. Sniper is bouncy and energetic and always ready to play and is not afraid of anything. Training Abby was very slow going and we took everything piece by piece. It took me forever to teach Abby to go through a tunnel and she had to learn that she was supposed to jump over every jump she saw. But she picked up on weaving pretty quickly. I think that part of it was that it was the way Abby (probably) viewed the obstacle/poles - she (probably) saw each pole individually and figured out the rhythm and her body easily followed. Sniper on the other hand wants to blow past (or through) all of them and get his reward. He is also much bigger than Abby and his body has to bend in ways that Abby's didn't which also makes poles more challenging.

I tried teaching him a few different ways to weave, but our instructor recently recommended teaching him "backwards" - or teaching him to drive out from the last pole, then slowly adding more poles to the front. This way seems to be the magic tool for him and I think that it has to do with his drive. Sniper REALLY, REALLY wants his toy, and when he drives out from the last pole, he GETS his toy and gets to tug. By slowly adding poles to the front, he has to learn to weave through them in order to get to the last pole so that he can finally have his toy.

We are up to six poles now. And while we still have six more poles to add; AND a completely different side to teach him on, I think that we can easily do both with this way. I've also learned a valuable tool in training him and any future dog I train in agility. Not that this way will work for every dog with high drive, but it is another tool to use/try when training.

(Sorry for the sideways video, but blogger won't support the editing video I use that can fix it)

Almost Lost One

Alternate Title: Pocket Would've Been So Happy

This is a picture of Sniper - exhausted- after I almost lost him today. Actually, I think that he would tell you he lost me instead.


On our regular morning hike sniper went up the hill chasing something - like he usually does, but this time he must've come down a different way then he went up because he couldn't seem to find me. I stood in the place where he left me and kept talking to him - I could hear him running around, but I couldn't see him to give him any directionally cues. This went on for what seemed like forever but was probably only a full minute or two. When I couldn't hear him anymore I figured that he was back on the path and headed the wrong way. I told him that I was "up here" and started clapping my hands and a few seconds later he practically jumped into my arms panting wildly. He sat down and put his head in my lap and had a look of completely relief on his face.

It is always scary "loosing" a dog. My mind immediately went back to when Abby was lost in the woods for 6 weeks. But this time, I knew that sniper wasn't actually running away - he just couldn't find his way back. I figured that if I stood where he last saw me that he would eventually come back, but this extremely smart dog is still a teenage boy which means that, at times, the elevator doesn't always go all the way up.

It's Always Something Over Here

After my last post we had a full day of Abby refusing to eat.

Yep, you read that right, Abby refused to eat. She wouldn't eat her breakfast, and she didn't even try to steal pocket's. I tried every treat imaginable including hot dogs and cheese. She turned her nose up at all of it. I finally went to the store and bought some chicken and ground beef and made her favorite snacks. She ate that no problem. I fed that to her exclusively for three meals just to get her back on track and now her appetite is back to normal.

We were supposed to have class today, but I took sniper and left her home. She may have her appetite back, but her energy is still pretty low. After a solid two minutes of barking for dinner, she has completely conked back out. She isn't ready for a one hour class yet. I'm not complaining because I'm just glad that she made it through surgery safely, but I'll be much happier when i have my girl back with her funny personality quirks.

Doin' Alright

Yesterday was a bit stressful as both Abby and Mole went under anesthesia for different procedures. Mole needed a dental with a few extractions and Abby needed that tumor out of her mouth. I was a nervous wreck all day and I think that my soft side was showing because the girls at the shelter I normally visit were laughing at me because every dog I met was "so adorable". When I explained what was going on with my dogs they understood but still laughed!

Everyone seems to be doing ok today. Abby is getting a small sore on her lip from where, I assume, the sutures are rubbing- although I can't see any sutures anywhere. There is a big chunk of gum missing and I'm hoping that we don't loose that tooth after all is said and done. She only has a few left at this point and I'm trying to take care of the ones she has as best as I can.

Mole is a bit fussy today now that all the drugs have worn off. He is still on pain meds but his mouth seems to be irritating him a bit so I gave him some of his muscle relaxants that he uses for his back pain to help settle him some. He is coughing a bit but that is probably from the irritation caused by the endotracheal tube. He isn't in so much discomfort that he has stopped eating, so I'm sure he will be fine in a bit.

I'm glad that everything is done and that both kids are settled at home and are doing well. I, however, wasn't glad to see the bill. The receptionist handed me the bill, I took one look at it, and handed it back saying " I want a discount". After all, I brought the business of 3 rescues into the office AND I am a former employee who still sometimes works there when they need more help!

The Abby Drama Continues

The other day I was cuddling with Abby and I noticed that her breath smelled "different". Yeah, it's a little weird to notice that, but breath can you a lot about what is going on with your pet's health. And while I don't regularly stick my nose in my kid's mouths, do spend plenty of time getting kisses and cuddles to notice a change.

The first thing I did was look for more rotting teeth. Abby only has about 8 total teeth, and I figure that by the time she is 10, we will probably be down to 4; rotting teeth is a very common problem with this breed. But to my shock and horror, it wasn't her teeth - it was a tumor on her gums. Yep, this little dog has another growth; and unlike the rest, this one isn't going to be easy to remove.

I seriously thought about leaving it in for a while. I hate sedating her because of her seizures and her kidneys. But after thinking it over for a few days, I knew that I would have to remove it eventually - and it's going to be just as risky in 6 months as it is tomorrow. The only problem with waiting is that it might get bigger and eventually abscess. Not so fun.

We have an appointment with the vet on Wednesday to have it removed, so keep your paws crossed that she makes it through surgery and that the tumor can be removed with out much trauma to her gums.