multisylldogs

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:25:25 GMT

Tomorrow, back to school with kids. I wore myself out today, getting stuff done. My room looked great after a week gone, nothing broken that I could tell, and not a disaster. Three different subs, which is a drag for the kids, but oh well. I even took the dogs for a run this afternoon, barely making it back to the car in time to miss a deluge. Poor Zorro was in such a hurry to jump into his crate, he clocked himself in the head with the crate door. It looked like the corner got him in the eye, but no redness or soreness, so I guess he's alright.

home and healthier

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:59:05 GMT

Got home about 10:30pm. Greeted and loved up everybody, got everyone reaquainted, and got to bed. Hanging with the old lady in bed, Z has a bone on the floor, Roper and Mayzie have them in their kennels. The crazy pet sitter lady took good care of the kids, they got chicken broth on their kibble tonight. My dad mixed his meds like a pro this morning, and we did our last test, can he drive? He passed, good thing that his truck is an automatic and he can do most everything left handed. I looked at both arms (injection site and actual infection site) all looks great. Got him some more food, he's got a great support system, and I'm gonna call tomorrow morning just as he finishes his morning infusion. I think it will be fine.

We had a weird experience yesterday. Just as we got to the house where he keeps his horses (and the home of Roper's mom) my dad's exwife showed up. Not my mom, his second ex. They parted on really nasty terms, so it was awkward at first, but they visited a bit. She's moving back to the area after an ordeal medically and relationship wise, so it's something else my dad will have to deal with. At least they got the meeting again over right away. Again, that support system will be real important, and he called some friends as soon as we got home.

Tomorrow is an inservice day, so I will have time to get organized for my students on tuesday, then wednesday is Veteran's day, then back to school. This experience (being really very sick and caring for a very sick parent) has been enlightening. I'm more convinced than ever that we need to live each day fully, forgive easily, and make the most of every moment, both for ourselves and our critters. It all comes crashing to an end way too quickly. Some people are fortunate enough to get wake up calls and second chances.

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:07:14 GMT

Crazy puppy frenzy last night. Roper got to meet his full brother (same litter) last night. At first, he was overwhelmed, though it didn't help that besides Rudy, his brother, there were 6 other dogs trying to meet/sniff him as well. All mini aussies, most related in some way, and all different sizes. Everything from teeny Roper, Sissy and Sadie, to medium Tyler and Cooter to large Bull and Shelby (Roper's mom) to absolutely gigantic Rudy. It was hard to believe that Rudy and Roper were brothers. After the initial meeting, the two babies were some wild and crazy guys. My dog didn't want anything to do with me, he went feral! We finally sent them outside to play, but I got worried after about 1/2 hour and went to check on them. It took me three tries to catch him, he had eyes only for Rudy. If we go out there again, I'll video them playing. Roper only comes up to Rudy's elbow. He's got to be 18-20" tall at least. It was pretty fun to watch. Roper was exhausted when we got home.

I think I'm going home tomorrow. That's my plan, anyway. I have to see how my dad does with driving still. He mixed all his meds for today by himself, with only minor supervision by me. He's very system oriented, and likes to follow plans and lists, so that helps him out a lot. I have to do some shopping and cleaning, then I think Im good to go.

I will say that I am not looking forward to either of my parent's getting older. I guess no one really does. Now both have had serious issues (this with my dad, and last year, my mom had both knees replaced). I am glad that I got a new car, the trip over here was really really easy with the Soul. One less thing to worry about. At first, I didn't know if I could handle all the medical stuff, all the details, and I am glad that my sister was here when most of it had to be done. She's much better at it, though I know it takes a mental, emotional and physical toll on her as well. Hopefully, this won't happen again real soon, and they both have healthy lives for a long time still. ML

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:50:53 GMT

hehe, this morning, I was throwing the mini ball for Roper, he has really turned into a ball dog. Well, as long as there are no other dogs around, then he's a "keep the ball away from" dog. But anyway, he was so cute! He even caught the ball on the bounce twice, my little man is growing up. Later tonight, he's going to go meet his breeder. And one of his brothers, who I hear got all the tall genes. ML

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:21:19 GMT

In Baker City for a while still. Dad is looking better. We mixed meds together this morning and it went well. I'm getting very handing with large syringes and needles. Got his dog back today, so Roper has playing/harassing Uncle Cooter all morning. It keeps him happy. Roper has been an awesome hotel mate. He slept in his pop up crate on my bed both nights. Last night, the screen wasn't even zipped. He's been quiet and only one accident at my dads. Been a good boy. I am still running a low grade fever, but mostly only after coughing/exerting myself. I feel better, but I've felt better too. This has got to be the longest I've been sick in a great while. I think I said this already. sigh At least it's sunny and dry here. Guess pretty huge storm at the coast last night, lightening and thunder too. ML

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:12:44 GMT

So, I am sick again. I caught something (probably H1N1) from some kid last week. I was supposed to go to Baker City to help my dad as he came out of the hospital (he got a staph infection in his right shoulder and has been in there for over a week). As of this evening, he's not getting out until Wednesday, so I have time to get better. Thankfully, I did sub plans for the entire week, as I didn't know how it was going to go. But I'm not going anywhere until my temperature goes back down. I'm sending an apology to anyone I might have infected at League. I didn't know I was sick (fever) until Sunday evening.

I did go back out to the fg barn on saturday, after a meeting where I probably infected more people!, and Roper got his first exposure to a full sized dog walk. I put targets on the ends, for 2020 behavior. He had no problems at all doing it. I am going to wait on the aframe as it is higher and steeper than the dogwalk or teeter. I may also teach it as a running contact, for the above reasons. He's coming along nicely, getting the basics of stay. He does have a silly behavior I'm going to have to get under control, which is if you throw a toy for him, he will grab it and run around, not coming back easily. It helps if I hold on the toy and he just tugs on it. But sometimes I forget and off he goes. I need to get him into a class so tha the can begin to work around distractions. Off to bed to try to get well.

Week 1 league

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 07:36:46 GMT

League at FG 7 pm, Friday night. Standard run, then game (Steeplechase?). Small to tall. Some new dogs, and some repeaters. One of my teams brought food (not sure which one though). Zorro and Mayzie each on a team. It was a strange night. I'm at that stage in a respiratory cold where your throat gets irritated and you cough and cough, but it's not productive. And, as I am getting old, leakage happens, sigh, it sucks. Anyway, I was mostly focused on getting dogs through courses. Zorro did great in standard run, though he missed a pole somewhere in the middle of the set of 12. Contacts looked good, no bars, hit entry to poles. I didn't fix the pole, as I didn't see the miss, I was so intent on getting to the next position, I left him to do his job. In the game, he was a super trooper, as I got lost, but he hung in there.

Mayzie was the wild, disconnected child, that I can find easy to hate. I'm sure she'll be fine next week, she just didn't expect all those people there. The obstacles were way too close together for us to navigate, though not many bars down. A couple of off courses, though.

Roper did a three obstacle sequence! He did jump standard, teeter, table. Later he did tunnel to teeter to jump standard (no jumping until I know his growth plates are closed). He did the teeter at full height. He wanted to do it over and over again, so I had to distract him from it and get his leash on. We have been working on him letting me grab his collar. He enjoys playing "you can't catch me" way too much, so I've been focusing on that.

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:47:24 GMT

Every class, Mayzie and I get better and better at working together. I feel like 22" is her height. Only one or two bars down. She still hates those tippy weaves, but she only missed the entry twice, and it was a difficult one for her, wrapping around the first pole. It's been a thrill to run her, so fast and exciting.

Big excitment for Roper, he did a full size teeter last night! No worries, even with a big bang on the harder floor. He turned around once, but he just loves the game, and offers to run up the teeter on his own accord. He runs to the end, rides it down, and then assumes the 2o2o position. It's so cute! He came in barking, so excited to be there. I need to get into a class soon with him, so he can begin to work with more distractions.

Tomorrow, league begins, though I think that we should just cancel the first week, with so many substitutions needed. I will probably end up running Any, as well as Mayzie and Zorro. Oh well...

slog, slog.

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:03:56 GMT

Took all four dogs to the spit today, for a walk/run. We got a little wet, but I was prepared with towels for the dogs. Me, I left my raincoat at home and got soaked! But everyone was calm and tired when we finally got home. Somewhere today Roper lost another of his upper canines, one left. Its loose, so it'll come out soon. Every one seemed to have a good time, though I'm sure Mayzie would be more happy if Roper stayed home! Zorro had to stay on the flexi, because he somehow managed to find a mushroom, the bugger! People spooked us too, this young couple came out of the bushes when it started to rain. Hanky panky I don't want to know about, I'm sure. The spit is actually a big collection site for Portabella shrooms, as well as some other edible ones, like morels, I believe. I'm too chicken to trust my mushroom taxonomy, so I'll do my mushroom eating off of pizza and from stores, thank you very much! I think that if I put a muzzle on Zorro, he'd make someone a great mushroom dog. He's great at finding them. The fucker.........got to love him.

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:50:40 GMT

I've been trying very very hard to give each dog mommy time. It doesn't happen every day, but hell, I'm trying to make a living to feed them, get them the best damn dog car lite possible and well, a home. The spaniels get to sleep on the bed each night. After my shower in the morning, I come back and snuggle with them a while. They continue to be the best bed companions in the house. M and R are too active and well, there's only so much bed. I also don't trust Roper's control of his wee bladder or Mayzie and her temper towards Any. I'm not going to talk about that anymore, don't want to jinx anything. Any often goes with me on errands on Sundays, though this week, I took Mayzie. Mayzie gets her class and often time in the evening, like now, where she's the only one in the room. She can be sweet and and snuggly, but it doesn't last too long before she's throwing toys at me. She likes to lean against my leg and chew a bone while I'm working. And Roper, well he gets fun time training several times a day. I used to walk him separately, but now only when it's not raining. He also goes on fun socializing visits, like Saturday. All the younger dogs go to agility practice and I mix and match dogs to take on walks and hikes. On clear days, I rotate through the young dogs with bike rides. It seems to working, especially as Zorro and Any age, they only need moderate exercise. I do believe, as I earlier posted, that streneous (sp?) workouts every single day gets the dogs "too fit" and it takes more and more to make them tired. All the dogs are very fit (I wish someone had that kind of control on my calorie intake and use!!) so I am not worried about them getting injured doing agility. I know if I were to start some more streneous sport with them, I might have to do things differently. If something catastrophic were to happen to my physical health, there would be a problem for the dogs, especially M and R. So here's to good physical and mental health to us all this winter!

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:26:52 GMT

Ugh, rain, sun, HAIL, rain, sun, rain.....on and on and on. I tried to hit a dry spot this afternoon to take the dogs out for a run and it poured hail down on them while I was trying to get them into the car. Uck! Played with Mayzie first. Yesterday she was being a total ass about coming back to the car, but she was relatively good today. I just don't see the point of playing ball to exhaustion (hers!) every day. It will just take longer and longer to exhaust her. So she gets to play for a while, not a set time, then it's someone else's turn. Well, yesterday she didn't agree. She used to run off (if you call going back onto the field "running off") all the time, but she'd been being good lately. She must of figured too much crate time, not enough run around like a crazy dog time. Too bad. I couldn't even run Zorro at all, because the idiot refuses to leave the mushrooms alone on the field. With the warm sun this summer, and now all this rain, the mushrooms are going nuts! He's convinced that they are treats left out just for him, and goes hunting for them. It'll kill him for sure one of these days, so I just don't run him on the fields right now. After M, I let Any and Roper out. I threw the wee ball, with the wee chuck-it, for about 15-20 minutes. Poor Any didn't get many turns, because Roper doesn't take turns well and I was idiot enough to set him loose without a leash. Well, that came back and bit me in the ass. He also didn't think it was enough ball throwing. I tried to catch him, or have him come to me, no dice. He'd bark, and stay just out of range. It took me 15 minutes and the bribery of treats to finally get him. He doesn't run off, but he won't let me get him either. I even tried getting in the car (didn't drive away!) and he just ran around the car barking. Little shit. Something to work on.

We've been working on getting in a bowl. It has been difficult for me to train this behavior with all my dogs. I finally did what I did with Zorro, which was put the bowl on a small step stool. Then it was a snap to get him in the bowl. Now I need to move to a smaller bowl. We've also worked on the rear cross and he's doing very well. Still need to work more on stays. and come. little fuck :-)

more FG fun!

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:14:52 GMT

Went to Fg barn tonight to continue to work with dogs. It was a good session, only briefly interupted by a woman who was also thinking that no one trained on friday nights like me. Other than her lack of personal space cues, she was fine with letting me finished and even came in and watched Roper in his adorableness!

Mayzie: Worked some jump sequences at 22". I am optimistic that this continues to be a correct move for us. I had a blast just running my dog, not worrying about jumps staying up, my timing continues to improve. Just hope she measures under 21". Contacts were solid, couldn't fool her, as were the few weave entries we did. Knocked two bars towards the end, but I could tell she was getting tired and starting that random "throw myself over this jump" crap to just get the ball. Silly rabbit, that does not work.

Zorro: OMG, he's just so awesome! We click on so many levels. I love having a fast big dog (Mayzie) which has allowed me to improve my handling for my fast small dog (Zorro!) He did great. I put the hoop bracket thingys out on the contacts and I could only trick him off once. I plan on continuing to use them regularly to remind him of his job. his weave entries are rock solid (I didn't think that I could ever say that about one of my dogs!). He was growling and barking at me on the little course, it was super fun!

Roper: That boy just loves to run! I am finding that I really need to exercise him before trying to work him. He gets in the arena and runs, and runs and runs. I can't convince him to play with me at all. I could see this becoming a sore issue for us. So, I waited until his back was turned, and I left the arena. Well, that changed mister run-arounds attitude and he was READY to play with momma! His rear crosses continue to shine, getting more and more confident. Speaking of confident, I used the lowest table to prop up the low end of the teeter. Roper ran up the teeter, waited for the drop, stuck it, and then moved down to 2o2o. I had put a target on the ground at the end, and he pounced on it. After I released him with an okay, he would run around to the table on his own, hop up, get on the teeter board and race down to the end again. It just cracks me up! The last one he did was fantastic, he ran right down to the yellow, rode it down, then when into 2o2o with no prompting from me. It was absolutely darling! He also had his first experience with a dark tunnel. After I straightened it out, he had no problem running through it. He has been transitioning easily between toys and food. Look out mini dogs (hopefully 12" dogs, but we'll have to see)!

Harassed dogs

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:58:57 GMT

I took this video of the dogs trying to avoid a rambuncous Roper. He was dying to get them to play with him. I don't know why they put up with him, I would have smacked him a long time ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD443OpZDw0

adapted from a horse post my dad sent me.....

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:24:46 GMT

Urgent Notice: Potential Danger of Dog Hair.....

In a press release today, the National Institute of Health has announced the discovery of a potentially dangerous substance in the hair of dogs. This substance, called "amobacter caninii" has been linked with the following symptoms in females: Reluctance to cook, clean or do housework, a reluctance to wear make-up, good clothes or heels. Reluctance to spend money on home or car repairs until after 'Baby' has new collars, leashes, beds, treats, food, blankets or toys.
"Amobacter caninii" usually results in long hours away from home and exhaustion which may lead to a loss of physical contact with other humans (especially husbands and boyfriends). "Amobacter caninii" is thought to be addictive, driving the need for additional sources - this may lead to a "pack mentality" or like the potato chip commercial, "you can't have just one". Beware! If you come in contact with a female human infected by this substance, be prepared to talk about dogs for hours.

Surgeon General's Warning: Dogs are expensive, addictive, and may impair the ability to use common sense.

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:16:57 GMT

I tried Mayzie out tonight at 22" in class. I was pleased with the results. Only two bars down, both while I wasn't supporting her or I gave her a horrible entry. So I will enter our next trial at 22". If she happens to measure over, she can jump 26". I think that I am definitely more comfortable with her at 22, she doesn't seem to be as kamakazi, and I don't mind making a front cross across her path (ie, her jumping into me). I don't believe I did even one of the weird little hop skipping things I do as she jumps a jump, like when I do at 26". It's like Im willing her over the jump, which Im sure the move throws my bad timing off even more. I just went from one sequence to the next (for the most part![where is that damn jump!]) and felt I was moving better. I also need to go back and work weave entries, though she got the first set, but refused to do them after that the first time (they were channel weaves, and she's never like those type, they pinch her toes and tip too easy!) but she needs to do them. We will refresh those. She had not one bit of trouble with the contacts or the tire, which was good. She did break her stay once, need to proof them some more.

Now I just need to make sure that my hefty behemoth measures under 21". Believe it or not, the overweight dogs in my household are NOT the spaniels, they are both trim as could be, Any may actually be too thin. Mayzie and Roper are both more chunky than I would like. I already cut Roper (all his family members that I know, except one, are on the fat side) back and I will cut Mayzie's food back and try to up the exercise. That's going to be difficult, with the bad weather coming, but I will give it a shot.

Roper is getting a bit of a ruff and his ears continue to waver between prick in tipped. I played with some tape one evening, but took it out and decided to let things happen as they may. One of his upper canines is just breaking the skin, and the baby one hasn't left yet. He is adorable and continues to have a blast in all he does. He's super cute in his new tiny wire crate. His rear crosses are looking great. We need to work with distractions, like small, cute terriers. He meets and greets all, but he loves her! Just his size, and she squeals and barks at him. Fun, fun!

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:10:39 GMT

I took some video the other day of Mayzie jumping first 26", then jumping the same sequence at 22". She has measured twice at 21" and one is with a CMJ, so I can move her down if its the right thing to do. I am thinking that it is. Does she look more comfortable at 22"? I certainly felt more comfortable having her come at me at 22". I realize that the vids are not good quality and that there are long wait times, but if you have any input, I'd appreciate it.

First, 26"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXqh-F2Zfsw

Second, 22"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5LBBGdrhSk

In other news, I went to school today, no fever, just a sore throat still (after a day of talking!). I was missing 41% of my students first period but significantly less than that in the other classes (only one or two students). We've had positive diagnosis' for swine flu in the district, so it has hit us. It's quick when it , but not that nasty, at least so far. Kind of glad to have it here early, it's supposed to be less viralent (sp?) now rather than later.

Roper doing the teeter!

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:14:29 GMT

These are super cute. He really seems to having a blast. I have a difficult time keeping track of him! These two videos are two sessions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjZcMlJblqM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgMbQXlwOJQ

Here is a video of Roper doing front crosses with two jump standards. We struggled with the rear crosses, but he is starting to get it at home. Again, I kept losing him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7ymUC6hX68

Sorry for the lack of editing. I am just now getting them on the internet! ML

crosses

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:49:59 GMT

One of my goals with Roper will be efficient, tight crosses. I realize that he's the wrong dog to be worrying about this, because he's so small, tight turns seem kind of a given. Anyway, I also want to use a same side arm rear cross signal (my, that's a mouthful), which I have failed to do with the other dogs. I'm going to spend the winter retraining them while training Roper to do rear crosses. He got to go first, and got more tries than the other two, but hey, he's the baby. He also gets the rear cross signal much better than the other two, especially Mayzie, what a knucklehead! Both the older dogs needed a verbal command to go around the jump standard in the correct direction (Right/Left for Mayzie, Switch for Zorro). I suppose that I'm setting myself up for total failure by having three different commands for the same thing, but what the hell, who doesn't like a challenge? Roper sure didn't appreciate having to wait in a crate while the others worked. Continues to be a bloody fool, screaming his head off. I moved the house around after getting rid of a twin sized platform bed, now all the dogs have crates in the same room. I tried it out today. I left them all in crates (I usually lock Any in a laundry space with a baby gate) while I went to get cold medicine. I came home to blessed silence! I was super pleased. I kept the huge wire crate set up in the living room, but I think I'll take it down, which will make my indoor agility training space even larger! I would encourage all of you to have an indoor agility space in your house for the nasty weather to come. If Sassy and Tammy can do it, I'm guessing that anyone can! I think that I have the next smallest living space after them. I did the above exercises inside. With a full-sized jump.

While out this morning, I picked up a final wire crate to complete my collection in the car. Now Roper has his own home away from home. It has a much needed side door, which is the only way it fit. He used to ride either in one of the spaniel's crates, or in this itty bitty plastic crate, which he still fits in. Now he gets to have his own space. That brings my crate total to 16 crates for 4 dogs, if you count the airline (7), wire (5) and pop-up (4) crates. Geesh......

the internet is a weird place

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:52:42 GMT

I had gotten a request by Mayzie's grandfather owner to call her. I hate talking to people on the phone I don't know, so today I finally got up the nerve to call. Well, come to find out, the problem was that I had made a link to the grandfather dog picture. And the title of my post was "about fucking time". So every time they would type in the name of their ranch, up popped my blog, with the profanity right under their ranch name. She very politely asked me to fix it. Not sure if I did, but I did edit my entry and take out the link to their website. But I know that I have clicked on sites that are no longer functioning, so will this old post still show up with the profanity? I was going to just delete the whole thing, but didn't see that as an option. I learned my lesson that I need to watch my potty mouth, at least if I'm also going to put somebody's web site in the post.

bleh

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 07:15:21 GMT

I have a sore throat and headache. Took drugs, waiting for the affect.

Took all 4 dogs to beach just north of Newport today. Walking 4 dogs on leash is nuts. Especially downhill on gravel. I (as much as I hate them!) got Zorro a flexi leash (26') a month or so ago, so he can go with even when conditions are not good for him (small people or dogs). He had to go back on the flexi once today as a group of ppl with kids came down on the beach where we were. Roper was hysterical and kind of naughty. He stole the ball as I was bending to grab it and tried to get Zorro and Mayzie to chase him. Mayzie and Zorro have this great agreement, that first one gets the ball and brings it back, then the other one does, and they honor each other's turn. They really are such squares! Roper doesn't play fair. I had to put them both in downs, which in itself was an ordeal, and coax him back to me. After that, I could get him to come back with the ball, if the other two were on a down (not moving). Any even chased the ball a bit, which is good for her. All were happy, tired and soaked by the time we headed back to the car. Not sure if I will regularly take all four, but they were pretty good.

I need to find a small wire crate for Roper to ride in in the car. He can ride back near Zorro, when I don't take Any, but I want him to have his own crate/spot. When I have all four dogs, he rides in a small (tiny) airline crate, but I want to get a wire crate just for him. I need a 14 or 16" by 20 or 22". It needs to have a side door, because that's the only way it will fit into the space next to Mayzie's crate. Then I will be able to bring Any more often, which I think that she'll like. I just need to keep looking around for one. I think there is a smaller version of one of the crates I have for the spaniels at Wilco. ML

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 18:20:59 GMT

In the continuing tooth loss saga, we are down to the two upper canines. If memory serves me correctly, these are particularly stubborn teeth that often need to be removed surgically when neutering. Those nasty sharp teeth hit my finger twice this morning, the little bastard.

I videoed both Mayzie and Roper last night at the barn. Film and option requests to come. Stay tuned.

I'm off to Lincoln City and maybe beyond. Got to love the coast in weather like this!

Btw, I've been noticing that there is usually a break in the precipitation for 1-2 hours in the afternoon right before the sun goes down. I've been taking serious advantage of this window to work/play with dogs outside. Has anyone else noticed this?

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:22:47 GMT

two canines down, two to go. One molar left and then we have all adult dog teeth. Significance? I have this hang nail that shudders every time I deal with Roper. He's not a biter, really he's not, but he play fights with everyone, me included. I've snagged my thumb a few times on his baby canines and it gives one pause to consider the evilness of the world. His big dog teeth are nicely rounded, and large for such a small head. Less likely to snag on skin, hair, etc.

took Zorro and Roper to Sherwood class last night. I was very pleased with Zorro's performance, even with a slide off the contact and an apparent refusal/misunderstanding to weave a hard entrance from the right. I want to keep working him, at least in a limited fashion, because he seems to enjoy it so much. He does well at Cash's barn, the slpperyness of the flooring is not as much of a factor for him as it is for Miss Mayzie. it was nice to see that the flooring appeared to be tilled, which mixes the dryer stuff in with the stuff more wet. Both dogs (really I!) need some work at contact proofing, especially me not slowing down on the contacts to try to keep them on. It's been such a mental block for me. Not sure how to go about getting through it, as I can usually get myself to run past in practice/class, though not if I don't think about it.

Continue to work Roper's "stay". I am trying to use the SG Ruff love method of 321 ready steady, or whatever it is, because he seems to understand that "okay" is his word to move. He does better with some sort of carpet, mat or bed to sit on, so we'll continue to do that, and slowly fade it away. A sit, down, come and stay seem to be the most important before doing any sort of classwork with him. I'm am actually excited to do agility classes with him, which I have not been interested in at all with the other dogs. We'll see.

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:28:42 GMT

One baby canine gone, three to go! Not sure what my fixation is with Roper's teeth, maybe it's cause their so small and cute (for teeth) or that once gone, they won't hurt so much when they touch you!

two videos from CAT trial

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:51:44 GMT

I lost the rest of them. Actually, I don't think I downloaded them yet. I know that I just need to run, it's probably pissing her off when I make her stay in position while I WALK to mine. It would piss me off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKd3ctSkwZ0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxMpiS8uA28

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:22:09 GMT

Maybe, video? this is crappy video I took when I first got my camera.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl6TBI82iGg

Let me know if you can watch this video.Thanks