Abby and I Have Started...

Yes, we've started retraining (or more accurately, training) our hope-n-pray running dog walk contacts to a controlled 2 on 2 off (2o2o in agility circles). 


Control is not Abby's forte, but it is kind of cute to see her leap back and forth over the practice contact.  Occasionally she'll land on top of it and slide down into position, which she holds ever so briefly. I try to deliver the reward as quickly as I can, but she's zipped into a different position before that happens. 


She may get frustrated, but while treats are to be had, she doesn't give up. Got to love her spirit!

Relaxed Weekend with Dogs

I completely ignored any thoughts about doing some dog sport training or conditioning --- we did get out for a trip to an organic farm on Saturday and lovely walk to Eagle Lake park on Sunday.








This is going to be all about a few photos. Abby, the sable sun doggess, Jeff and Zoey cavort on the lawn at the organic farm. Zac and I are below.

Two photos from the Sunday Eagle Park escapade: To the right is Zac, nestled among some Indian Paintbrushes. And below, Zoey and Abby grace the verdure.

The rest of the afternoon, I raked and pulled weeds, while the pups relaxed between bouts of barking. All-in-all, a nice, relaxing weekend.

Dog Sport Frustration

Yes, I need to get a life; I'm feeling frustrated with dog sports lately, and I realize there are far, far more important things to get frustrated about.

But, here goes the ranting and raving...Abby is good at agility and she loves it. My bum leg is really holding us back -- she does not tolerate slow and poor handling so well.

Zoey has been a little nightmare dog at agility. She still gets freaky on the dog walk, and beyond that, she runs off when we are finished with our run. (Same issue when getting her off the disc dog field.) Given that she won't come when called, I don't feel that I can trial her.

Abby has been doing Rally, but walking in a straight line is difficult for her, as is sitting still and not popping into a down, when we halt. She doesn't really know how to stand on command either. When she doesn't understand what's being asked, she likes to run in a circle and bark to signal her distress. To be fair, I haven't worked that much with her, and I've found her antics more amusing then frustrating.

I've decided to mix things up a little for now, and maybe mix things up more later. I took Zoey to Rally today instead of Abby and Zoey did quite well. It's a very quiet class and more controlled; it may be what she needs now. And I definitely need to feel as if we can be reasonably successful at something!

I'm considering pulling Zoey from agility and perhaps running both Abby and Zac each week. Right now, they share a class and alternate weeks. Given how much Abby loves it, and I think we'd really improve as a team with more practice, this is appealing. I'm a bit worried about the bum leg holding up, though. I have a few weeks to think about this, and I need to be sure there's enough room in Abby and Zac's class first.

And, disc-dogging, with my poor throwing ability, is bringing its boatload of frustration as well. I'm not even going there today!

(Photo courtesy of Sean Silvernail)

Conditioning for the Canine Athlete

It was cold and rainy last night, and the sofa with its blankets looked inviting. Rather than give in to the pleasure of cuddling on that sofa, Zac and I ventured down to Agile Canines Training Center for a seminar with Lin Gelbman and I'm so glad we did.

Very knowledge and experienced, Lin discussed some of the injuries performance dogs may suffer. She analyzed each participants' dog. Zac stacked up better than I expected. His back legs are somewhat thin and weak; his front is strong, as is his core. He also behaved well; focusing on his salmon Zukes, while Lin examined him---what a plus!

After this analysis, Lin reviewed exercises and a basic six week conditioning program for our dogs, to be followed by a maintenance program.

Just imagine, in six short weeks, Zac can have buns of steel!

Howlarious!

Promptly at 1:00 p.m., Zoey threw her head back and howled along with the first-Wednesday-of-the-month civil defense alarm!

Zac had a productive day, too. He modeled sitting-by-a-door for an article I wrote for Factoidz.

Not too Dogged Today

It was warm and lovely today, or so I heard. Totally nose-to-the-grindstone working on writing projects all day, I didn't step outside until about 3:00 p.m. to chaperone Zoey and Zac in the back yard and pick up poo before Zoey did. Be thankful there are no photos of that!

On a more pleasant note, the dogs and I are getting geared up for an upcoming disc dog fun match. Which made me think....I should set myself some type of challenge so that I practice throwing plastic and freestyle routine moves. Anyone have any ideas?

Is it Really Monday?

I slowly scraped myself out of bed 23 minutes late and was informed, that yes, my alarm had gone off, and yes, I had slapped the snooze multiple times. Hmmm....I don't remember that....

Six a.m. Crossfit, though a full house with three new people, passed by in a fog. Can't quite remember what the workout was, but I'm plenty sore and the Rizzo leg hurts like hell, so it must

have been good.

Post-Crossfit, I buckled up the doggies and got everyone out for a walk. I think it was pretty uneventful, though we saw a grey egret and a white crane, or maybe I was dreaming.

Mondays are agility days. Zac and Zoey attended today. Zac was about as sleepy as I was, and we made a good team. I was not able to keep up with Zanax Zoey; she was sassin' back big time about it, too.

So, I'm fighting off a major urge to take a nap, and the sleeping Shelties, festooned about the floor and the sofa are doing nothing to dissuade me.

Zac Demands a Trip to French Lake Park

A windy, blue-skied day, cotton ball clouds drift eastward. Zac was anxious to get out and do something...anything, and proclaimed his anxiousness by barking sharply and incessantly.

Before Zac caused more hearing damage, Jeff and I took the fearsome threesome to Clifton E. French Lake Park and hiked the paved trails. It was early enough that the post-church crowd had yet to arrive, so the park was almost empty, offering few cars and cyclists for Abby to lunge and bark at.

Zac reveled in the unfamiliar environment, and marked his new territory with the enthusiasm of gold miner staking a claim. Zoey pranced pony-like, and was uncharacteristically quiet and calm. Ah, the small moments that carry us through the week.

One thing I wonder about...when Jeff is home during the day on weekends, Zac is so excited to get going and do something, but during the week, even though I'm home, he settles right down for a quiet morning on the couch...and if it's agility or obedience training day, he still makes it pretty clear he'd prefer the couch. A funny dog, for sure.

Photo by mrooczek262

After weeks of hobbling along like Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy, I was finally ambulating normally this morning, and decided to head to Golden Valley for a disc dog comp; which was part of the Animal Humane Society's Walk for Animals festivities.

Comfortable temperatures and overcast skies, the morning was perfect for disc dogging. Lucky for us, the disc-gods sent a wind that rivaled that in Colorado.

I tossed and Zac and Zoey each tried to catch during our first Distance and Accuracy (D/A) rounds. OK, I'm still a little rusty from the winter.

Freestyle frolics followed. I had Zac do a few tricks and then just tossed a few easy throws. He actually caught much better; he was warming up.

Zoey; who has a hard time trading discs, especially with other dogs around, did really well compared to our Oak Grove fiasco---she traded only a few seconds after being asked to, and we kept the routine going.

That would not be Zoey's last word though. A price was to be paid for cooperating during Freestyle. After her second D/A round, she refused to be peeled from the field until surrounded, with no chance to escape.

Good times, though and it was great to get out. And I'm now back to hobbling like Rizzo.