Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.

Category Archives: agility


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What Katie loves

We’ve been challenged by the Key West Collies Essex and Deacon (http://keywestcollies.blogspot.com/) to come up with ten things Katie loves.  I think we’ll try to come up with ten things Katie loves about going to school.

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1.  Treats.  Lots and lots and lots of treats.  Fresh chicken.  Roast beef.  Cheese.  Yum!

2.  The car ride to school.  With the windows down so she can get a breeze in her face.

3.  The place all the doggies go pee.  Such lovely fresh smells!

4.  Doggie butts.  Need I say more?

5.  Ignoring her mama and vacuuming the floor for any spare treats anyone else dropped.  Just in case.

6.  Looking at herself in the mirror.  Because she’s such a princess you know.

7.  Making goo goo eyes at that little brown aussie named Charlie.

8.  Jumping.  Over any kind of jumps those silly humans can devise.

9.  Tunnels.  Oh tunnels are soooo much fun!

10.  Getting told how pretty she is.  In case she didn’t already know.

I’m supposed to ask ten of our closest dog friends to think about 10 things they love…but I don’t think I have ten dog friends that haven’t already been asked by Essex and Deacon…so if any of you want to jump at the chance to share your favorite things…well, Katie and I would enjoy reading about them!

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YES!

It’s 7 degrees out this morning.  But the sun is shining and in the front of the house there is little wind.  And Katie was going nuts inside.  So I got the board out and we started working on getting her to go UP the slope.  I started with it flat on the driveway, butted up against the front porch’s two steps.  No problem.  She’ll run back and forth all happy, eager for her treat.

I slipped one end up on the first step which is really low.  No problem, she runs back and forth, leaping up onto the porch and grinning.

I slipped the end up to the top step.  She ran down it just like always, turned around and ran back up it before she realized it was higher.  YEA!!! I gave her LOTS of treats.  She ran back down.  Got a treat.  Turned around and balked.  Silly girl.  You just did this!

Finally got her to go up half the board, jumping on from the middle…then a bit later she accidently ran up all of it, eager for the treat.  YEA!!!! I gave her LOTS of treats.  Then she balked again.

Sigh.

After much tempting she sort of just said “oh what the heck” and ran up the board, turned around and basically said:  “OK, is THAT WHAT YOU WANT MOM?!”  She got LOTS of treats.

Then we went inside before she had a chance to balk again.  And to warm up my fingers.  We’ll try again later this afternoon.  They expect we’ll get to a high of 17.  Heat wave.

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Agility update

Katie, her Daddy and I went to our second beginning agility class tonight.  Katie has been wound up like a top all day and I didn’t have high expectations for class.  I wasn’t wrong, at least at first.  They started out with the dogwalk and she was having none of that.  There were only three of in the class at first, and three instructors, so one of them took us aside and wanted to work with her on the wobble board.

This is when I had a memory flash of Dianna’s blog where she said she should have listened to herself rather than let an instructor tell her what to make Miley do on the table.  I know that the wobble board was what got Katie totally freaked out last week.  So when the instructor tonight suggested we use it to get Katie desensitized to the dogwalk I said NO.  I told her it had caused Katie to shut down last week.  So the very nice instructor went and got a blue board that sat flat on the floor and a lower table, and I worked with Katie to first touch and then get on those.  It took awhile and a lot of chicken, but eventually she would sit on the blue board, then on the low table.  By the end of the class she’d jump on the taller table.

She never did walk the dogwalk, but she’ll put her front feet on the yellow part.  And she’ll do the same for the A-frame.   She just won’t put her back feet on anything!   The teeter?  Well, she’ll quickly put ONE paw on it and then take it right back off then look to me for a treat.  She’s so funny!  I guess she’s right, she did touch it! LOL!

They also introduced a longer tunnel, the tire and the chute.  She loves tunnel and jumps and only balked at the tire a few times.  I think that was more me than her, she wasn’t always sure where she was supposed to jump with it.  I was worried that she wouldn’t do the chute, but she was on a roll running through stuff, so even when they dropped the chute on her she ran through.  I don’t think she’s ready to just charge through it without someone holding it open yet, but she sure didn’t show any fear.

In fact, I think she had a blast today.  We made sure to make it all fun and not force her to do anything.  We’re going to be working on our board in the driveway.  This past week I got her to walk it a couple times, mostly though she’d rather avoid it.  I did use Marie’s suggestion with the board that if she touched it I threw the treat away from the board to alleviate stress.  She doesn’t seem as afraid of it as she used to be.   If I can get her to run it regularly this week I’ll raise it up a tiny bit see how that goes.

Tomorrow is our rally class.  I used obedience/rally stuff tonight to warm Katie up and she was spot on.  Maybe tomorrow will be a great class too!  After that husband and I are going to the North American Auto Show.  We haven’t been in years.  Should be fun.

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Katie says it's a whole new world

We’re still enforcing the “OFF!” for the furniture, including the bed.  It’s very hard for us, harder for me than for my husband.  Sometimes we’re sitting on the sofa doing something and don’t even NOTICE when she jumps up and sits down next to us.  Of course the sooner we say “OFF!” the better, but once in awhile one of us notices the other person sitting on the sofa or asleep in bed with Katie curled right up against the totally unconscious person.  I have to say she’s not stupid!  She’ll try and if she gets an inch she figures she’s in like flyn.  NOT!  Mostly though she’s trying really hard to be good, though you can see she really wants to be next to us.

And to keep her busy…we’re in two classes this training session!  Last Thursday husband and I took her back to the rally class.  That’s 30 minutes of obedience and 30 minutes doing rally.  Katie kind of enjoys this because she understands what’s expected of her.  Though she HATES being put in a crate so that I can walk the rally course prior to us trying to execute it.  She backs right up if she figures out we’re heading over to the crates.  Here’s a picture of little Katie in a huge crate next to a huge dog in a middle sized crate.  The big dog next to her LOVES shelties, but Katie isn’t so sure she wants to initiate a friendship!

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Yesterday Katie, husband and I went to a beginning agility class.  There were only 6 dogs in this class so that was nice.  Katie loves to jump and run through the tunnel.  But she continued her fear of the dogwalk.  Sometimes I could get her to jump back on and walk down the other side, but as the class continued and we tried again she balked and refused to do anything whatsoever with the dog walk.   As for the teeter?  No way no how.   By the time we got to the teeter she wouldn’t go anywhere near it.  I’m sure it looked a lot like a dogwalk.  The other two dogs in my group (a poodle and a miniature aussie) of course had no trouble with anything.

This morning Katie and I went back to our rally class.  The agility stuff was still set up in a ring, and as we were early to rally we went over there so she could sniff it.  My rally instructor came out of the bathroom and stopped by to see what we were doing.  I told her about the dogwalk fear and she said let’s try!  She allowed me to put Katie on the top of the dog walk and as she spotted one side, I walked the other so Katie couldn’t jump off.  Katie walked down the ramp just fine.  But she was still scared to walk onto it herself.  Wednesday night the agility instructor wouldn’t let me pick up Katie and put her on anything.  Ah well.  We’ll see how it all works again next Wednesday night.  Husband dug out the plank I was using last summer and says he’ll put it up on a couple of concrete blocks so Katie and I can practice walking just slightly above ground on a board.  Maybe that will help!

Meanwhile, I took a picture today of Katie on the table.  She wouldn’t stay on it Wednesday night (she’s not allowed on furniture at home you know!) but she stayed on it today for me.  Such a girl.  And a picture of her sitting next to the dreaded dogwalk.  She looks happy, but I think it’s an act!

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Katie 2229Today in rally she was about perfect.  I got a shot of her in the line of other dogs doing her sits/downs.  She never moved, even though she was right at the end next to a fabric wall behind which were three owners who were practicing open sits/downs and had “left the room.”  They were talking quite loudly and she kept looking over that way but she never broke.  Even when one of them sneezed!!  And then someone knocked over a CHAIR for heavens sake!  She flinched but didn’t move.  I’m very proud of her for that.

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We’re also working on “Paw” where I ask for her left hand.  She’s obviously a right handed dog as she wants to offer “Shake.”  But sometimes she will raise her left paw fractionally and she almost always shifts her weight over to her right foot when I ask for PAW!  So that’s some progress.

Sweet girl.

Aug 22 07


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Tricky T-day again already!

Guess what finally arrived at the library yesterday!  The 101 tricks book!  Katie appears to be less than excited, but that’s because she didn’t get to see it until after her bedtime, when I finally arrived home from work.

katie-1719 I haven’t had time to study anything yet, but I have hope!  Meanwhile, last Saturday I took Katie to our local pet store and purchased an inexpensive CLICKER!  It’s really loud.  And worse, Katie HATES HATES HATES the clicker.  I sat on the floor with a bunch of treats and called her.  Clicked when she came to me and attempted to give her a treat.  The clicker caused her to back away, eyes wide.  I tried again.  She backed up further.  Didn’t want anything to do with the clicker OR the treats OR me!  I tried several times, tossing her the treats which she gulped down, but she wouldn’t come near me.  Over the past 3 days we’ve tried a few times, but she still HATES the clicker.  I’m not sure if this is normal and if I should keep trying to get her to come to associate it with treats.

Then I tried the free timing that Ludo explained by putting a large tin in the living room and seeing what she’d do with it.  I didn’t use the clicker, it was scary enough for her to have something in the living room “THAT WASN’T THERE BEFORE MOM!  katie-1716 IT DOESN’T BELONG THERE MOM!  WHAT’S IT DOING IN MY LIVING ROOM MOM?  I DON’T LIKE IT!      NOT AT ALL!  oh…there’s a treat on the top?  Well…maybe…I’ll just take that treat off your hands, you know, just help myself to that tasty morsel… ”  katie-1717 But that’s about all she would do.  She wouldn’t have anything to do with it except to take a treat off the top and stare at it intently.

So far, our tricky t-day isn’t all that tricky is it!  Well, we HAVE been working on “walking the board” in an attempt to get her over her fear of the dogwalk at agility.  Not that we’ve been able to actually GO to agility class, but maybe someday.  So, we practiced that a bit this week.   katie-1695 We played with the frisbee as a treat in between working on our obedience skills, heeling, staying, standing and then running on the board.  She’s almost at the point that I can say “Walk the board!” and she’ll go (almost) on her own and run the board.  She stops though if I’m not running next to her, to make sure that’s what I really meant. katie-1704 She’s not quite ready to just run it herself.  She has, however, on occassion, gone over and walked over the board all by herself without any direction at all from me.  Then she looks at me and grins as if to say, “SEE?  I can do this board thing..where’s my treat?”

Silly girl.

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Agility-not

Tonight Katie and I were scheduled for another agility class.  But it’s been a misty kind of day and by evening it was starting to rain.  So the class got canceled.  But Katie was all wound up; I’d told her we were going to school, I’d thawed out her favorite turkey for treats.  I’d packed the car with her special princess pink agility leash.  She wanted to go Go GO!  So we worked a little bit in the driveway and on a plank I bought which was in the backyard.

Tuesday I went to the orange home improvement store and bought an 8 foot long 12 inch wide plank, some spray paint and a couple of orange cones.  At last week’s agility class Katie had been afraid of the dogwalk and the A-frame, so I’m hoping I can get her used to walking on boards that are painted yellow and blue.

Yesterday I put the plank out in the yard and we “walked the board!” several times.  This is Katie at the end of our session.  “Let’s get going, I’m not afraid of any stinkin board Mom!”

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Today I painted the board and we walked it some more.  Too bad there was no class, because she’s got “walking the board” down now I think.  We’ll have to see what happens when the board is elevated.

katie-1636We also did a little heeling around our cones in the driveway.  That turkey sure was motivating, as she was very attentive.  But it wasn’t as fun as going to agility class and getting to run and jump and visit with other dogs.  Oh well.  Maybe we’ll be able to go again someday!

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Agility and the big campout

katie-1145 Last night Katie and I had the opportunity to do a little agility again.  It’s been a very long time since we have tried this, and I was worried that she wouldn’t remember anything.  I was wrong.  She remembered that she hates the dogwalk and the A-frame, refusing to begin them, and only tentatively maneuvering them when she was placed on top of each.  We didn’t even attempt the teeter.  She still likes to do the tunnel and she loves to run and jump.  She even did weaves pretty good with me guiding her through them.  Most of her weave problems were caused by me not being able to handle the hand with the leash (and her) and the hand with the cheese through all the poles.  The chute was OK, but someone was holding up the end so I think she thought it was just another tunnel.

Anyway, we had great fun, ran a lot and generally wore ourselves out.  Which is why I had great hopes for our first night this summer of CAMPING OUT in the back yard!  I’ve been having that soulful wish to camp out for awhile. Warm afternoon sun entices me to spend the night listening to the frogs singing in the cool summer night air. Since I am off work today, and lack of sleep wasn’t going to be a big issue, I put the tent up yesterday afternoon.  Katie and I explored it before we went to agility.  And late last night I headed out with tons of blankets, pillows, a flashlight, water…and of course Katie.  katie-camping-resized-august-16-2008

She didn’t settle in right away; she had to circle the permiter of the tent several times, flop down, get up and do it all over again.  Finally she settled on “her” pillows near a little doggie window and stood guard while I fell asleep.  For a minute anyway.  I was awakened  by barking and her jumping on me.  We did this a few times before she crawled up on the blow up bed (I’m not THAT much into old fashioned camping and sleeping on the ground!) stole all my pillows and went to sleep.  I scrunched further down under my pile of blankets and went to sleep too.  For a minute.  I woke to her jumping on my head and barking.  After awhile we settled down again.  For a minute.  This went on for perhaps an hour, and then she sighed, curled into a small ball, her nose in her tail at the foot of the bed and we both went to sleep.

I think our first night of camping out might have been successful if I had not woke up in the middle of the night, about 3, having to go to the bathroom.  She was still curled in a tiny ball at the foot of the bed, sound asleep.  It was FREEZING, I think we were somewhere in the low 40’s and my feet and nose were cold.  I decided our little camping experiment could end, and I woke her up, put on some shoes and attempted to crawl out of the tent.  She didn’t want to go!  Silly dog!  I finally picked her up (good thing she’s a little dog!) and we tromped back into the house with it’s indoor plumbing, heat, and king size mattress.

My husband thinks Katie and I are nuts.  He’s probably right.

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Bluebirds…and other things

This week I had multiple sightings of bluebirds as I drove through the countryside near my home. At first I wasn’t sure I had actually glimpsed a male bluebird, but when I saw it and what I thought might be his female partner near the same location the next day I started paying more attention. Turns out I saw bluebirds nearly every day and in several locations. Yesterday I got a really good look at a pair on the road just up from my house. So I think they are here for good! For more information about the Eastern bluebird go to: http://www.nabluebirdsociety.org/ which is the North American Blue Bird Society page.  Yesterday afternoon I went to my library and checked out a book about bird behavior and read more about bluebirds.  I’m hoping the fact that they are around means we are almost to spring!  I’ve known to be wrong about the spring thing before though, so don’t count on me…I’m about as reliable as the Ground Hog.  But more optimistic!

As for the other things:  Katie and I went to agility today.  But turns out there isn’t another class starting!  I was so confused, came home and looked at their webpage and it says there’s agility today.  Will have to find out what the story is.   Anyway, all that worry and decision making about whether or not to go…big waste of time.  Which in general is what I find worrying often is…really.  So Katie and I are going to go out and romp around in the wet snow.  It’s much warmer today and the predicted rain hasn’t started.  She can’t wait.


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Questions for dog moms (and dads)

It’s Friday again, and a new session of dog agility starts tomorrow. I have been wavering on whether or not to sign us up. The biggest issue is paying for a four week session when I know at least one of those weeks I have to work. I’ve been working a set schedule that gave me my weekends off, but that changes the week after next and I’m back on the “don’t know when or where I’ll work” schedule again. The other reason not to register is that my knee still isn’t better from last week when I twisted it while stopping abruptly at the chute. Of course the knee thing is also aggravated by the extra pounds I’m carrying, and I think it’s stressed in general, not just at agility.

The reasons to go back to school tomorrow? Well, Katie LOVES school! And I would miss the other dog moms and the instructor as well. It’s a great time for both of us, we get to work on stuff together and bond (though she’s already attached to me at the hip so I don’t know that we need more bonding!). She just loves the treats, and to RUN RUN RUN!  The park is still covered in snow and closed, so no running there.  She’s a crazy girl with no real outlet except to run around and around the sofa.  Which of course makes this mom and dad crazy too!

So what do you think? Go..or sleep in tomorrow?

My second question revolves around someone’s blog that talked about a product to put in the dog’s food that helps with teeth cleaning. But I can’t remember who talked about it. So if you know, could you give me the name of the product and any positives or negatives about it?

Thanks! That’s all the dog questions for today!

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