Whole Dog Life

Beautiful Day for a Winter Run with Zac!

2010-12-19T13:04:00.000-08:00

A busy work week, which included working Saturday, finally finished. Today, I promised myself I would take time off from the home office. Sun-drenched snow beckoned, and Zacky barked and jumped around, demanding to go for a run. I pulled on fleece long underwear, running tights and a light running jacket, helped Zac into his ski-joring harness, and off we went...Zac pulling in his little harness to get back to the house to see what Jeff, Abby and Zoey were up to.

I tugged him along, averting the oh-so-interesting sniffing spots as much as possible, and we schlepped our way on the trail to Bass Lake.

A few fish houses line the perimeter of the lake; it must be too early for them to be placed in the middle. We take a few steps out on to the lake ourselves, but our trail has ended, so we turn around and schlep back.

Trek to Bass Lake

2010-11-21T16:04:00.001-08:00

Though it was grey, sleety with treacherous footing, Jeff, the Fearsome Threesome and I ventured to Bass Lake. We were rewarded. Four swans graced its placid surface.

testing from iPhone

2010-11-21T09:31:00.001-08:00

Dogs and Dentists

2010-11-19T15:32:00.000-08:00

It's been the year everyone gets their teeth cleaned. Abby got hers done in August, Zac got his cleaned and several extracted (ouch) in October, and I'm planning to have Zoey's cleaned in December. That will be a really nice Christmas gift that she, Jeff and I can all appreciate.

Though boring and expensive, having your dogs' teeth cleaned is important to their health. Dogs can hide pain so well, and so many things such as minute fractures, are not obvious during a manual exam. A dental cleaning can bring all sorts of issues to light, and they can be fixed.

I felt bad when I realized how I kept expecting Zac to catch discs when he had fractured molars. He's all fixed up now, and next year, he'll be a disc-catching machine.

Evisceration

2010-10-04T13:13:00.000-07:00

A clear blue sky, trees turning gold and orange and sumac turning crimson. Sunshine warms my back, and its light filters through the leaves to the gravel path, revealing...a convoluted mass of some critter's intestines.

I stare in horror as Abby snatches it with her teeth. I jerk her leash and she drops it. I breathe. Then Zac rushes forward, and he too, snatches the guts. I jerk his leash and he too, drops it. I step back before breathing this time.

Carefully watching the dogs, I pull a plastic doo-doo bag from my pants pocket, pry it open, and using all the intestinal fortitude I possess, I pick up the intestines.

And so is life with dogs, midst so much ethereal beauty, a reminder of the yucky side of life.

09/25/2010 Leads and Leashes Disc Demo in Rochester, Minn

2010-09-26T10:39:00.000-07:00

Rain pelted Southeast Minnesota earlier this week, causing flooding, bridge collapses and highway closures. I analyzed weather reports and data from the MNDot site; I questioned making the two hour journey into this area for the Saturday demo at Leads & Leashes.

Saturday morning it was raining, though forecast to stop by afternoon. The highways and roads we'd need to take seemed clear enough, and so Jeff and I packed the Fearsome Threesome in our trusty dog-hauler and ventured south. Highway 52 was open southbound, though a culvert had washed away in the northbound lane.

The Leads & Leashes website describes the facility as a "Country Pet Store & Pet Resort." It's fairly new and the agility room where we'd be demoing has a nicely padded surface and plenty of windows offering daylight.

Our group, the Minnesota Disc Dog Club, had lots of members helping with this demo, so I was a bit surprised when Zac and I were slated to demo. Zac really doesn't do much in the way of freestyle under his most favored conditions. This demo was vivid reminder of how much indoor disc is absolutely not a favored condition. He wouldn't even walk out into the demo area with me. I then carried him out, tried throwing a roller or two, but he kept trying to run back to the usually despised crate.

Zac is not the most-high drive dog, and I was saddened by his stage fright. Although I hope he lives forever, I hear a refrain in my head..."when I get my next dog, he'll be confident, when I get my next dog, he'll catch everything..." It is a curse of performance dog people, I think. We desperately love our dogs as if they were our children, and at the same time, we know they won't live forever; we hope the next dog we adopt has all the athletic attributes our current dog may be missing. And we feel guilty.

Photo by Sean Silvernail

Abby and I Have Started...

2010-05-17T15:51:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-16T12:39:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-11T13:10:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-08T07:55:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-05-05T11:06:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-04T14:08:00.000-07:00

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?

2010-05-03T13:32:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-02T10:17:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-01T11:59:00.000-07:00

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.

Zac Turned Seven on December 1st

2009-12-05T07:56:00.000-08:00

Zac turned seven Tuesday. He's the first dog I got as a little puppy and the first I've trained past a couple of Obedience classes.

When I got Zac, I really wanted a dog who was dog-social and I could do sports with. Poor Zac had to be a guinea-piq for everything I wanted to try but had no idea how to do...to maintain his dog-socialness, I dragged him to the dog park where the big dogs bowled him over. We tried Rally, canine musical freestyle, flyball, agility, herding, traditional obedience and disc. We should try skijoring this winter, and maybe weight-pulling, because I don't know anything about those two either.

His favorite sport is toss and catch. It's right up there with chasing a turned-off laser light, but I'm afraid it comes up a distance second to eating.

Zac is not the most high-drive nor the most energetic dog, but he's definitely a heart dog. When I think about how much I love him, it almost stops mine.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T06:33:00.000-08:00

Another silver grey sky. It was sleeting yesterday, yet it's dry so far. After several days off, his tendonitis even had a chance to clear up, Jeff is will be running with the gals this morning. I'll get the sweet potatoes started and then get Zac out. We'll be seeing family today, some we don't see often.

I've ben thinking about yellow the last couple of days. Yellow, for the solar plexus chakra, yellow for fire, self-confidence and the ability to act. Every other color had paraded through a list of favorites; blues and greys, reds and oranges, purple with all its variants, an occasional touch of green and of course, the obligatory black phase. Yellow, the hot color of the sun, has always left me cold.

But now it's yellow's turn.

The Upside of Denial

2009-11-24T14:05:00.000-08:00

Denial can be a good thing. For example, the reality is I'm never going to be a good disc-dogger. I'm just too uncoordinated. But I kid myself that the Crossfit workouts and a little disc practice are just what I need to join the top ranks. Yep, I'm delusion, but what's the downside? I'll wind up being better than I'd be without the workouts and practice. Yep, I could wind up being disappointed, but hey, I'm a big girl. I can take it.

But denial can be dangerous. So many people kid themselves about just unhealthy their diet and stressed-out sedentary lifestyles are. How can these people be encouraged to face reality and dump denial?

Abby, Like Whiskey, Mellows with Age

2009-11-23T08:41:00.000-08:00

The sky is a silvery grey and a cool mist permeates the air, although the temperature is mild for the end of November. Sable-colored oak leaves, the color of Abby, the color of whiskey, still cling to trees. Abby could get lost in them.

A car streaks by. Abby checks in with me; does Mom have a treat ready?" Yes, I do, and Abby sits and impatiently waits for it. I give her the treat, she bites my fingers to get it and she leaps, spins and barks at the receding car.

OK, she hasn't mellowed entirely, and yet for years, Abby woke up promptly at 5:01 a.m. and wanted to go outside. Now she'll sleep in until 8:00. I think back, trying to remember, when did that change? She can now be off-leash in the house. She's able to be recalled from scorching off in a sable blaze to the kill the cat we've had for four years. Another subtle change.

Yes, Abby, our little whiskey-colored girl, is mellowing with age. And though life with her is smoother, it makes me very sad.

2009-11-16T06:02:00.000-08:00

Intriguing and inspiring, the Hindu Temple in Maple Grove supplies a mini-vacation to an exotic location. The larger temple is filled with smaller, intricately carved concrete temples, each of which houses a Hindu goddess or god. The goddesses and gods are carved from marble, granite or wood, and garbed in colorful silks. Incense scents the air, and priests perform ceremonies in melodic languages.

What a difference a disc (or two) makes

2009-09-18T07:00:00.001-07:00

The past few weeks, Zoey and I have practiced Freestyle using seven to nine discs, because we were going to participate in UFO and AWI events. The MNDDC is having a Skyhoundz format comp this Saturday, so I thought we should practice with five. Now I don't know if being killed in Crossfit over the lunch hour was a factor, but I basically stood in the middle of the field with Zoey, wondering what the heck to do next when I had no discs to work with!

It's not looking good for Cattail days...

2009-09-17T08:44:00.000-07:00

Still coming back to reality after two great weekends of disc-doggin'. Huge competitions and perfect fall weather.

Zoey, Zac and I went to Naperville over Labor Day weekend for a UFO Major and the Ashley Whippet Invitational. Yes, I'd hoped Zoey wouldn't freak out and chomp one disc, but we might actually be able get through our oh-so-simple Freestyle routine. Despite my threats to drop her off at the Naperville Humane Society if she didn't cooperate, she still chomped and she is still with me. Well, we had fun anyway, and as a personal "victory", I didn't buckle under the pressure as I had in Colorado at the Quad.

Zac did good for Zac at Toss and Catch --- we did get one scorable catch, and a few non-scoreable ones. He certainly is top dog when it comes to being excited to be out there.

The MNDDC held its Minnesota State Championships last weekend. Zoey and I competed in Freestyle Saturday, and though we rocked it at the park the previous Thursday, she was once again a little chompmeister when competing. Zac and I did Catch 22 and Zac had three of five catches, which is a recent record. The practice has been paying off!

Ghost Hand Punch and Blurry rocked the campground Saturday night --- awesome bands.

Sunday offered some unique events --- UFO style longshot and fastest dog competitions. Zac and I led off the Women's division, and he made the 10 yard catch the first throw, so a great way to start out. With the Sofflites I use for him, I pretty much max out at a 20 yard throw, and we struck out that round. Jeff ran Zoey ---- they did quite well and hung into the final four.

For the fastest dog, Zac competed in the small dog recall event. He brought home some hardware with a third place. (There may have been only three teams competing.) Abby and Zoey competed in the small dog chase event, and Abby took third, while Zoey took second. I think that event did actually have more than three competitors.

Two very fun weekends, making it very hard to get back to the reality of school and daily life.

Freestyle Addiction in the Making

2009-09-02T08:08:00.000-07:00

Life's been good. I've had numerous chances to demo Freestyle disc with Zoey in the past couple of weeks, including a gig at the Hennepin County Government Center, an agility fun day, and the Minnesota State Fair.

We've got a big comp coming up this weekend, lots of big names. Yes, I wish I had a few more weeks or months to get ready, but I'm feeling pretty good about it. We may come in last. That's OK. If I do my best, and work with Zoey through her one-disc chomping obsession, and both of us go on and off the field with smiles on our faces, we'll have been successful.

Starting Crossfit

2009-06-15T13:16:00.000-07:00

As I wasn't suffering enough between running and swimming, I have joined a crossfit gym. A local gym held an open house on Saturday, and along with that, offered a special when joining that day. Well, I love to save money by spending it, so of course I had to join.

As part of the open house, the newbies did 100 reps of wall balls, where you hold a weighted ball, squat, and then stand up and launch the ball against the wal, 9 to 10 feet up. It really doesn't sound that tough, but the muscles in my thighs have been screaming ever since, and I'm kind of dreading going back today.

On the plus side, the soreness from the wall balls did not seem to noticabley affect swimming---I made it through 10 laps on Sunday at my typical glacial pace.

Ramblings on Running with Dogs, continued

2009-06-03T14:03:00.000-07:00

Today, I just ran with Zac. Though I felt kind of stiff and under-par (late night, rich food, capped off by chocolate cake), it was much better dog-running than yesterday. Jeff finds Zac frustrating to run with, but he is perfect for me.

All I can say is that I am *so* grateful Jeff doesn't mind running with Zoey, because she drives me nuts!

Anyhow, we got in 2.16 miles of running, which included a couple of sprints up hills, and exceeded the "recovery" pace I was shooting for, so it's all good.

Ramblings on Running with Dogs

2009-06-02T07:29:00.000-07:00

Frustrated this morning with running with dogs. I had to swap groups, and each group had its challenging dog. It's early and quiet in the neighborhood, until these rumbunctious beasts are let out, and virtually shrieking with excitement. Each group also seemed to pick the most inauspicious moment to poop. Do they lie awake nights and plot how to make things as annoying as possible? And forget doing my program's suggested drills; I'd be pulled right on to my kiester.

I was thinking how nice it would be to have a dog-free run!

Wag Walk & Run - Helping Paws 5K

2009-05-31T05:38:00.000-07:00

Jeff, with Abby and Zoey, and I with Zac, did this 5K yesterday. Lovely day, at the lovely Purgatory Creek park in Eden Prairie.

Lots of service dogs in training, especially Golden Retrievers. Zac helped socialize a pup to Shelties, and was a credit to his breed. He does not like puppies, so I was really happy that he didn't curl his lip when the little guy got in his face. Zoey also helped socialize, but we kept Abby away.

At the start of the run, we were bunched up a bit. Jeff, Abby and Zoey chose to go to the end of the runners, where it was slightly less chaotic. Zac and I hung with Clara and Scooby at the start, and they are good runners, so we started near the beginning of the running group. Not that we stayed at the beginning once the race started! Because of crowding, we needed to start out at a pretty good pace, yet as it spaced out, we slowed down somewhat. For us though, we kept a solid pace all the way through the race and did not walk at all. Just had two pit stops for Zac, and a little water. Zac started out a little concerned about all the dogs and people, but he soon settled down and assumed his trademark running smile.

This was a really good mental motivator because the excitement of the race kept us at a pace much faster than our typical one. It's just what I needed --- now I know we can do it. We did a sprint to the finish, which we both love, and we still had some left on the tank.

Post-race, we hung with Clara, who loved up Zac and Zoey (Abby had no interest) and had a few snacks. We did listen to a canine police officer, who mentioned he was really happy when he was not assigned a Belgian Malinois. That made us laugh.

Great day, wonderful experience for our first race. Thank you, Helping Paws.

Running with Dogs

2009-05-28T10:20:00.000-07:00

Awhile ago, I started "running", if that term can be used for moving at a pace equivalent to a Sunday stroll through the park. I've been taking Zac with me; he's good company, and he needs the exercise as much as I do.

When trying to follow a running program though, having a dog or two along can require a flexible attitude. Yesterday, I'd found a perfect location for hill repeats, but perfection fell apart when someone let her dogs out, and everyone barked and barked. No contact, but lots of noise, and it would have seemed tacky to keep running up and down in front of the woman's yard.

If I become serious enough about running, there will be a point where the dogs will have to stay home, but that's no fun for any of us. I suspect it will be a long time before I reach that point.

Can Dogs be Hypnotized?

2009-03-25T20:17:00.000-07:00

In my Mind-Body Connection class tonight, we reviewed hypnosis. For many people and situations, it can be very effective. I wonder if any Animal Communicator has ever successfully hypnotized a dog? If so, I want to talk to him or her and schedule an appointments to our crew could get some suggestions: "Zoey, you are relaxed and seldom bark, Zac, you always hit the contact zone, Abby, you are friendly and submissive to other dogs." Think it would work?

Amazing, a quick Google, and up pops a link to the Hypnosis for Dogs site. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Blondes have more fun?

2009-03-23T20:47:00.000-07:00

I colored my hair blonde today, and happened to wipe some of the color on to a towel. Somehow, little Miss Zoey got a hold of the towel, and licked the color, right before I was going to leave for class. I called my vet's office, and was recommended to call Poison Control. Which I did, for 60 smackeroos. Poison Control wanted her to be given Pepid AC and Mylanta or Maalox. I called Jeff and he agreed to pick up these items. He got home and said they cost $27.00.

Zoey would take the Pepcid AC tablets just fine. However, she will not take the Mylanta. Here's a dog who cheerfully and joyfully licked hair color, but refuses Mylanta...

2009-03-22T20:55:00.000-07:00

We are getting excited around our house...in about a month or so, we are planning to do some excavating, and will create a little doggie play area from what is now a useless hill. It will be small, but we should be able to get a few pieces of agility equipment (teeter, yes!) and have room to practice close-in disc stuff.

Lately, we've done very little disc play. It's been kind of muddy at the local field, and we missed a play date today to visit Jeff's new nephew. The dogs have been getting lots and lots of walks and runs, so that should help conditioning.

I've done a little training in the basement. I'm still not letting Zac even see the discs, but we are keeping our trick skills up. Zoey was transfering and tugging a little, and also doing a few tricks. It's not like being outside though.

Run Faster?

2009-03-18T19:55:00.000-07:00

Zoey had an agility lesson today. I was informed I need to run faster, sprint training was mentioned. Zoey seems very happy to lope along at the same pace I do. I was hoping she'd be a dog willing to drive far ahead of me, but that might not be the case. Ouch. I would love to able to run --- in the past, the pain has always stopped me. The acupuncture and resistance trainging may help, but I'm not sure it's enough. Is the pain that bad, or am I that wimpy? No answer right now.

All three dogs got a little training session in the basement. I got Abby to bite the disc twice. Tried to let her "win" though she did not bite hard, so it was tough to impart that winning feeling. We then went on to a little trick trainng. With Zac, worked a little on holding a dumbbell, which seemed pretty stressful for him, though it's only pure positive training, and some other Obedience stuff plus some tricks. He did not even catch sight of a disc. Zoey was wild enough for discs, so we played some transfering games, and then did some trick training, and a fair bit of tugging with some rope toys. I had two toys, so got her to transfer her attention.

Typical Tuesday - but Flipped

2009-03-17T20:40:00.000-07:00

Tuesday is Obedience and Rally day at TCOTC for Zoey and Zac. Zoey has been in Obedience, and is doing fine there. Zac has struggled mightily, not because he can't hadn't the work in Rally, but because the manufacturing business on top of TCOTC starts rolling its carts around the facility like rolling thunder. Zac panics. Disturbingly, his anxiety seemed to be deepening, rather than lessening. So, I had a brief chat with Zac's Rally instructor last week, and we decided to try flip-flopping Zoey and Zac.

It went very well. Zac seemed to enjoy Obedience, and there were few rolling carts to freak him out. Zoey wondered what the signs were doing on the floor, but she did fine and seemed to enjoy the change. When I'm no longer taking Monday night classes, I'll get Zoey back to Dog Works Inc., but this seems to be fine for the meantime.

It was another nice day, not as spectacular as yesterday, but great to be outside. Abby and Zac enjoyed a walk---though Zac seems to want to stay as far away from Abby as he can...Zoey was extremely well-behaved on her walk; she likes being walked by herself.

With class, Zac and Zoey got their quota for training in. Abby, poor little Abby, got nothing. I did walk her, of course, but also, I needed to get in When Pigs Fly Yoga and an hour long resistence routine. That, along with Biggest Loser, took precedence. Poor little Abby.

Arghhhh!!!!!! I know better!

2009-03-16T19:19:00.000-07:00

So, after yesterday's disc dog clinic, Abby traded discs, and showed she has freestyle potential. Ever eager to nurture this, I brought her downstairs to our little training area, and yes! I got her trading, trading and trading, until she got bored and stopped playing. I KNOW BETTER!

Zac showed no interest at all from the git-go, and even walked off. I think I'll just let disc go until we can work outside, and then see how he does. He was super-happy at agility last Wednesday and did very well, so I don't think his issue is physical.

Zoey was pretty interested, though I was working her during her dinner time, and she did need to get fed.

On the plus side, it was so nice and warm today! Got out for about 80 minutes of walking. I checked the little park where we often go play disc, and it's still quite soggy, so did not play disc outside.

MNDDC's Spring Break Day of Disc Doggin' 2009

2009-03-15T15:10:00.001-07:00

What better way to launch into spring break than to go to visit Rochester, MN for a day of dogs and MNDDC friends?

The facility; Leashes and Leads, was superb. Warm, clean, with' nice, thick mats. The instructors, Abby of Pawsitive Vybe, Roo and JG, were first-rate too. Fascinating to use jump cavelettis in disc. That's going to be great for Zoey, who is very athletic, has great freestyle potential, but is unaware she has back feet.

Crabby Abby also amazed us. She might become a freestyle dog after all! She typically likes to head out, far out, for Jeff to throw a pass to her, but Roo had Jeff and Abby tugging and transferring discs close in, and Abby was doing great.

Zac shut down. That's a problem he's had indoors lately. The consensus is that he is confused about just what he should be doing. I'll work with him to stimulate his prey and bite instinct (just need to remember, there are NO suicidal rabbits!) with discs, and hope he comes around. If not, I'll just steal Zoey from Jeff, now that I know he and Crabby Abby can do freestyle.

2009-03-14T12:44:00.000-07:00

It's peaceful now; the three dogs all are sleeping. A six-plus mile run that Jeff took with Abby and Zoe seems to have quieted them down, as did a 3 mile walk for Zac.

Jeff and I are looking forward to a Spring Break Day of Disc Doggin', to be held in Rochester tomorrow. A new season soon begins, with it all the attendant hopes and promises of new accomplishments---I hope the promises lasts longer than the typical politicians'. It is the promises I make to myself and my disc team members; practice more, throw better, train more effectively, and most importantly, to promise to keep it fun for the furry guys.