Spot Makes the Trip to the Rainbow Bridge

We lost Spot tonight.

Funny how an average good, happy day can suddenly change direction. I mean it was still a good day, but it has ended very sadly.

While I'm shocked, I can't say I'm surprised. I always knew in my heart that Spot wasn't going to be the dog to last into old age years. Health issues were never in his favor and as a puppy mill dog, life started off rough and while his spirit was amazingly strong and forgiving, his body just wasn't built to perfection.

Ah, the stories I could share about that boy. My favorite (and I mean no disrespect to anyone) is that I always said if he were a human, he'd have been a personal shopper. Seriously, I'm certain that boy was overly in touch with his feminine side and I LOVED that about him! I loved that he went to the beat of a different drummer, was thrilled with that direction and completely comfortable with it. I also said if he were a human, he'd bring me flowers every day - just because.

But now I find myself at a loss without my Spottie-boy and honestly, I wouldn't have picked today to say good-bye. I would have picked a date far, far into the future because I want to be selfish and I still want MY Spottie here with me. Unfortunately, that's just not how reality and life works.

I can't help but wonder why things have to change. I mean today I was happy with exactly the way things were and then without notice or warning, they changed without my permission. Now I'm an endless fountain of tears, snot and  glowing eyes from crying. Think about it, if our entire lives are about being in pursuit of the ultimate happiness, why is it that when we achieve it, that things change? I mean why is it that we can't freeze things and just stay in that moment forever?

I realize these are the ramblings of a woman feeling the emotions of a loss, but there is also a bit of clarity that comes at times like this too. That clarity is that no matter how hard we may try to control things, we're really left to the mercy of 'Whatever Blows In Our Direction'. And just so you know, it doesn't have the courtesy of scheduling itself ahead of time in our date book!

So, I'm left with reality, which is that tomorrow I'll wake up and Spot will be physically missing from life. The reminder will come immediately as the morning ritual included him jumping up and laying next to me as I woke up. On a normal day I'd pet, hug and talk to him and he'd share small little kisses with me (he never kissed anyone else). Tomorrow when that moment comes, Spot won't come when I call his name and I'll remember that he's gone...besides feeling the loss, I know I'll think "But I wasn't ready to let him go..." After all, are we ever ready?

In the end, I know we were so very lucky to have each other. Spotty, I will ALWAYS love you. Thank you for everything and God speed my sweet, sweet boy.

Love,

Your Momma

Gonna do a Raindance!

I would give anything for a few days of long, steady rain! I haven't experienced a nice long, hard rainfall since moving to Alberta. Dry, dry, dry. Wind. Wind. Wind.

As you can see from this map, the west is seeing very little precipitation...

Text from website (I bolded the last line):  This issue’s map shows the total amount of precipitation that has fallen across the Prairies this agricultural year (Sept. 1, 2009 to March 17, 2010). So far this agricultural year there is a definite east/west split through the Prairies. Areas east of central Saskatchewan are heading into spring with relatively good amounts of precipitation during this period. West of this region is another story, with very dry conditions over most areas. The worst area is just east of Coronation and Hanna, Alta. Parts of this region have seen less than 30 millimetres over the last six and a half months.

I miss water and trees! I miss lush, green grass!

But I don't miss mosquitoes!!!

A fire ban went into effect today because of high winds and extreme dry conditions. It is very discouraging to keep tracking in this - dry, dead mouldy grass and dusty conditions.

On the plus side, my dogs are handling it well - even the wind! I never really knew what tracking in high winds was like until coming here.

Well, that is my rare, belly-aching post. I actually need a shower after cleaning my backyard, from being pelted with dust and mould.

Speaking of outings

It turns out that my local Lowe's is VERY dog friendly. I decided to go check out the rumors myself with Jenny today. They definitely have no problem with dogs in the store. They even keep dog treats all around the store for all those that come in. We were invited back. The exact invitation was "Come back anytime. We are super dog friendly. All dogs are welcome. We love dogs here." Well I guess it can't be more clear than that!

She looks so impressed doesn't she?

I want the screen door seen behind her.

Here we are picking up more fencing for signs. I now have enough for a full course set. It took her a few minutes to recover from the big scary moving doors. By the time we left, after some practice with those in the garden area, she had gotten the hang of them. I think she even figured out she could make them open herself. I think she likes having the power. I better be careful, to much power may go to her head. You know how pugs are, today sliding doors, tomorrow the world.

Rally signs part 2

So I decided to twist the top pieces down abit more from my original design. The pieces just being folded over were catching on each other when I stacked them. It was annoying.

I also discovered (purely by accident) that if you forget your clothes pins for the corners you can simply tuck the sign under the folded top pieces and the sign will stay.

But the clothes pins are better.

I now have a box to hold signs, holders and the corner pins. No more forgetting. There is a Rally match coming up in May that I am planning on taking Jenny to. There is an APDT rally show sooner in my area as well but I know I won't be ready in time for that. I also don't know the difference between the APDT and AKC signs. (and honestly I am still learning the signs) I may go watch though. Plus Jenny has never been to a show so I need to get her used to a show site first. So unless something else comes up sooner, the May match may be our first official Rally outing. Is it to soon to be nervous?

Courses - WI Rapids Kennel Club Sunday

One (of the many) things I love about my friends in Wisconsin is that they have really good, solid handlers and wonderful dogs.

What I mean by this is that these guys are rock solid when it comes to their training skills and they have dogs who are enthusiastic and have fun. As an example, today's Novice Class was one of the best I've seen and these folks can do their weave poles! This gives a hint as to the skill level the Excellent handlers have and these guys can handle a good challenge with a smile.

So in their honor, I like to try different types of courses because I love watching how the course runs and how these solid teams step up to the challenge. That brings us to today's courses.

When the Excellent JWW course was setup, I was excited. There was flow, there was some skill and there was a place for the dogs to stretch out and run on their last day with me. Yeah, then we started with the large dogs and I began to wonder about the course...

The problems began almost immediately from the exit of the #3 tunnel up to the#6 weave poles. Dogs were either knocking the #4 or #5 jump, numerous dogs went into the #10 tunnel entrance and countless dogs missed the weaves all together. But the biggest issue was the triple and I soon began to wonder if I'd inadvertently created a safety hazard! Heck, I even started to consider moving the triple because it was an ugly sight at times. I also started to doubt the course and my 'nice design'.

However, once we were out of the 24" group, the 20" group and the remainder of the dogs did an incredible job. So, being the Type-A personality that I am, I watched closely and here's the conclusion I came to. Simply put, people were WAY over handling the weave entry.

First, the problem started with handlers not supporting the #4 jump and dogs were either incurring a runout or (as you can see by the red line) where dogs had to make a hard turn to the #4 jump which then put them at an awkward angle toward the #5 triple. At the same time, handlers were running up to the weaves and then slamming on the breaks. Since the dog was behind the handler, they would pull up (as well as have a bad approach to the triple) and knock or crash into it.

Second, many handlers would go flying up to the landing side of the triple and either put their right hand out or come to a slamming stop and turn into their dog. I'm absolutely convinced that several dogs were certain their handler was setting them up for a rear cross and so the dog turned to the right and went into the tunnel.

Either way, this is an exercise I'll be setting up for class in the near future. I'm really curious how my students would handle it.

The next area I would have like to work was #11 through #13. As you can see by the path in red, dogs went very wide. I'd like to see the green path for handlers which I believe would lead to the green path marked for the dog. In other words, how can this wide turn be made more efficient?

Next was the Excellent Standard course. I might get shot for saying this, but I loved this course!

I felt it had subtle challenges, but encouraged a bit of speed as well.

The main area dogs had problems with was the #9 jump. It seemed dogs were focused straight ahead at the tunnel and simply by-passed this jump.

Oh, the other item was that for some reason, there were several fly-offs from the teeter. Since the dogs weren't available to be interviewed, I can only guess the speed in the beginning of this course had them psyched and collection and slowing down to properly perform this obstacle just didn't seem to be a priority for some

I'd say the majority of teams did a spectacular job on the courses and it was a pleasure to watch them all.

I'll be back to WI in September and I'm looking forward to it! Thanks again to the club and to all of the exhibitors, you guys rock!

Training Day today - Spring tracking begins!

I know, this is not a tracking picture...this is what I did while the tracks aged! No loitering in Tim's for me, no sireee...

Today I laid two very difficult tracks for River and Jet just to see where we are at. It was a warm day, 14 C with no wind. The Google Earth maps are below for each one. River's was not aged 3 hours, only 2.5. But it was very complex with a lot of nv (non-veg) - more than half - and it is VERY DRY here. Even the newpaper headlines say that there is no spring runoff as usual and farmer's are worried (as usual). Jet's track was just over an hour. I was so happy with both girls. I have to say, they did better than I expected, and better than they have been doing up to today. I am sure the warm weather was welcome news for them. After each track, I sat on the grass with them and fed them liver treats and pepperoni and told them how wonderful they are. There is nothing quite so rewarding as a good day tracking, in my books. While the tracks were aging, I did obedience with Caden. I am waiting now for greener grass for him, before we start tracking again. I don't want his SchH style to be compromised in this dry dead stuff, as we are both new at that style.

**Special note for my SchH friends ** (if you look at this blog). In CKC tracking a dog is not scored and has a certain amount of leeway from the primary track. I try to keep my dogs right on when they are on veg, but when we are at transitions to nv and when we are on nv, I allow them the leeway to some degree as I am not convinced a dog can be totally nose down on hard surface, however, I do think they can be MUCH closer than the rules allow. So when you see the "line painted on these pictures" showing where the track goes - you will see my dog is not right on, but darn close. In other spots, she is dead on.

Below is River's track from left to right. It is 504 meters long and was aged 2.5 hours. At her level it should be 3-5 but this was very complex with a ton of cars and people walking all over it, and a few dogs, too. It was slightly more than 50% hard surface with some odd gravelly grass areas, and interesting brick/grass areas. AND SO FREAKIN' DRY! Under the portico where you see a grey roof was red brick.

The photos are taken with my Blackberry, as I forgot a camera! The idea to paint in the actual track comes from Susan Coutts' Birch Bark Hill tracking blog. Thanks Susie!

Second leg. I avoided the crest of the berm as it was covered with gravel that was probably salty from winter. I figured she would cast a bit downhill. Later she did get up on it and took the turn nicely.

Turn onto the parking lot. She sniffed the lightpost, then headed out onto the lot. I walk on the yellow lines when I can, as the slightly raised edges hold scent, plus, a car will not park on your track!

River did a big cirle before taking the turn. Once she turned I have no idea why but she trotted the entire leg and I had to jog to keep up. She was slightly off as I walked along the end of the yellow lines, again, to avoid parking spots and driving lanes, and because these lines are great for holding scent. She really nailed the upcoming turn which was onto a wheelchair acess spot which may have funnelled scent.

Below, here is where River nailed the turn. I went onto this weird brick and grass area and she found her first article, a torn up old sock.

From the brick/grass, she turned right and went into this portico with a smooth red brick surface. Oh, and see that white van way up there? It is a stupid security vehicle parked ON the sidewalk, right ON my turn. I spotted it from here and was ticked because I made my turn on a nice puddle and used wet footprints there, which were UNDER his van.

In this pillar area, she went in circles and sniffed pillars. Then she came to a dead stop and stood for a minute, got her bearings and headed out. I was going to step in but she got back to work before I had to. The pillars were a problem for defracting scent, I think. And the brick was so smooth it was not great - sort of like being on glass!

River has done the turn where the van was parked. It didn't bother her at all. You can see from the angle of my line that she is to the right of the track - I always stay on my track. She did something really interesting here which I rarely see her do. She actually licked this wall and I almost managed a picture of it. I am sure it was holding scent.

I went up these steps and across, then down again. River actually started to go up them to the right of this photo. Then she came down, sniffed around, then did it the second time with lots of confidence. A couple of students were heading into the College and River poked her head in the door - I had to put tension and not let her go in with them! She went down and took off on her last leg on concrete.

Here she is, really looking good on this concrete. River loves hard surface stuff. She is better at it than she is on veg now. I wish the grass would green up so I could do a nice veg track with her. The sidewalk turned but I went straight to end with a metal article on grass. I like to pair up easy article on hard surface and hard articles on veg sometimes, even though the last article should be leather. I realized I ended her track behind a bus stop. I was joyfully praising her, and a couple of students came out of the shelter to see what was going on! Oh, they said, it is that crazy girl who comes here with her dogs all the time...

PART TWO: JET'S TRACK

350 meters, about 200 m non-veg (nv) and 3 articles

Jet did her veg really carefully to start. I put lots of dried liver there, and she had not had breakfast. That helped! I noticed today that at each transition she is starting to weave back and forth before commiting to the next surface...something to work on next time. She did her nv turn nicely and found her little wooden SchH article - much smaller than a CKC article would be, but nice for hiding in public areas. I would love to do a SchH track with Jet, so use these a lot for her. I do need to work on her indications for SchH and have her lie in the direction of the track though. But it is between her paws which is great.

Second article, plastic lid on veg. Nice indication. She puts her chin on it. I used that stick to hold it down while it aged. I admit I asked her to pose for this shot, haha.

She really did a wonderful job on the road, and asphalt sidewalk. I was surprised she did better on asphalt than on this cracked concrete sidewalk but it could have been the wind that picked up during her track. She weaved a bit as you can see, and also spent some time under the low branches of an evergreen while I waited. But she popped out and then found her way along to the end of the track and the glove!

And here she is, posing again for me. She is such a good girl. We sat in the sun for awhile and he kept giving me kisses, which is very special from Jet! And she also put her front paws up on my leg and looked really happy. She loves to work. Since we don't have steady access to sheep right now, this keeps Jet busy.

Courses - WI Rapids Kennel Club Fri & Sat

I haven't been timely in uploading courses so today I have Friday's Excellent JWW and both Excellent courses from today (Saturday).

First is Friday's Exc JWW course which had a nice Q rate.

At jump #1, most handlers started with their dog on the left and did a front cross on the landing side of #3 which set them up nicely for the correct end of the #5 tunnel.

On the #6 landing side, most handlers did another front cross to set themselves up on the inside (dog on their right) for the long line of jumps leading to the weaves. I have to admit, I was proud to have gotten such a nice open running space in this smaller sized ring.

After the weaves, most handlers did another front cross (so the dog was on their left), heading for #14. The surprise on this course was that quite a few dogs missed the #15 jump. As you can see from the dog path (the red line drawn on the course), handlers who picked their dog up at the end of the weaves and assumed a straight path from the end of the weaves through #15 were shocked when their dog curled in and bypassed #15. I have to admit, I was equally as surprised!

The #17 jump required a bit of patience and most handlers did great in this area.

Next we have Saturday's Excellent Standard course.

The first unique feature is the start line which had handlers starting with their back toward the middle of the ring. The second unique feature had the #6 jump taken four times - a new record for me!

The surprise on this course was the number of dogs who, after jump #7, took the off-course #15 tunnel exit. It was like dogs were possessed and even when handlers were standing still, dogs gleefully accelerated while handlers tried to call their dogs back.

There didn't seem to be an overabundance of Qualifiers and I'll have to take an unofficial survey on what people thought of the course. I do know the 24" dogs didn't fare well, while the 20" dogs did much better!

Next came Excellent Jumpers with Weaves. Luckily for me, the course seemed more popular with handlers and the Qualifying rate was higher - yeah!!!!

Most handlers started the course with the dog on their left side which allowed them to 'pull' their dog to the correct end of the #4 tunnel.

Next handlers did a front cross either before or after the #5 jump which set them up for the inside path as dogs headed through the tunnel and up to the weaves. Most handlers then did a front cross after the weaves.

For the serpentine, handlers were split as to who handled it on the right side of the course and who handled it on the left side of the course. Either way, the surprise on this course (get the feeling there were surprises on all of the courses so far?) was that several dogs weren't pushed far enough out to the take-off side of #12 and would end up on the landing side of #12 without having come full around to the take-off side.

When landing from the #13 jump, quite a few of the dogs were pointed down toward the bottom of the course toward the #6 jump. On the other hand, some handlers did a beautiful job of turning the dog's head so they would land heading toward the top of the course and toward the correct #14 jump.

After #17 quite a few dogs were wide turning toward #18. Again, in contrast, some handlers did an incredible job of working the #17 jump to gain the advantage of a tight turn to #18.

Over all, these courses were different than some of the designs I've done in this building in the past and I liked that. We'll have to see what tomorrow's courses bring in terms of challenges.

Have a great night everyone, I'm off to bed!

The Bath Whisperer

Caden came in tonight just caked with mud on his legs and tummy. There was no way around it, he needed a bath. I closed the bathroom door and let him calm down. Last time I bathed him, I lifted him in and got gouged by his nails as he fought and wiggled! After he looked in a few times, and I said YES, he put a paw on the edge. I didn't touch him once, just said he was a good boy.

I started to softly say hup, in you go. I kept it very calm. Suddenly, he just hopped in! I remember years ago, my sister having to bath my dog Hawk. She fought and fought with him and finally said GET IN THERE, and he jumped in. She was babysitting him. What a good sister! That was my inspiration for just talking Caden into the tub without a fight.

He even stood camly while I took this photo with my Blackberry, which was the only thing handy. I calmy cleaned off all the mud from his legs and belly and didn't make it a long process, so he would feel happy wtih his choice. I am so proud of him, and proud of myself. A small victory, and very sweet!

And look what came off! Thank goodness he was so cooperative. I am The Bath Whisperer, LOL

How to make your own Rally O sign holders

I admit it. I love finding ways to make something that saves me money. This idea came to me after seeing this post: http://rottweilers.brilliant-disguise.net/2009/06/14/rally-obedience-signs-the-illustrated-version/

However I feel I have improved on the original model. First you start with a section of cheap garden border fencing. It looks like this in the store. (This is a 18 inch by 8 foot section folded in on itself.) This is one section from the fencing.

You can go this route and simply clothes pin your sign to the section with it pushed into the ground like this:
Notice I didn't cut the end pieces off yet. (seen on the right side-those should be cut off if you are going to make these type of holders) I wasn't completely happy with that model because it meant I could only use the holders outside on grass and soft ground. I thought about it and came up with this design instead:
I simply turned the section over, cut off the side pieces, bent the pieces that would normally be pushed into the ground, and then bent the now bottom piece under so it would be a stand alone piece. Here is another view:

And from the back:

Now don't throw away those cut off side pieces.

On windy days those can be used as tent stakes (on grass or soft ground) to keep the sign from blowing away. You just need to open them up abit so they fit. Needless to say I am VERY excited to finally have some affordable Rally sign holders. One ten foot section has 6 sections and only cost $4.47 at my local Lowes store. That equals 6 sign holders. Since you need 28 signs to do a full course you can get enough to make 30 holders for under $25 total. Much better than the 50 or 60 bucks I see the official rally sign holders selling for. Plus they are very easy to make. All you need is a pair of wire cutters and pliers. I made this one during my lunch break. (and took most of the pics then too) Quick, easy and cheap. The trifecta of back yard do it yourself. VBG

*

I downloaded and printed off a full set of beginner signs awhile ago on one of the the many Rally e-mail discussion groups. I keep them in a binder in plastic covers. This means I can keep them organised and find which ones I need easily. I also leave the plastic on to protect the signs from damage from the elements. I do need to go through and see which kind I have (AKC vs APDT) and to also check and see if any have been changed since I downloaded them.

I also printed off a few set course maps. This helps me be able to come up with practice courses aside from my own which may not be proper. (I readily admit that I am pretty much a Rally beginner.)

I have been taking a Rally class locally with Jenny which has been a lot of fun. It has gotten my own training juices flowing. So much so that I sent in Jenny and Jack's application to APDT so I can compete in either venue if I desire. I also finally got Jenny's corrected AKC pal listing paperwork back so she is all official now.

*

I hope this idea is useful to other Rally O converts out there. Rally On!!

Who's got balls?

Caden comes in and immediately collects River's and Ted's balls (see below).

Another ending to The Ted Show...

The Ted Show, a 10-step tutorial for your dog

The moral of this story is: Don't encourage a Border Collie.

Ted enjoyed the other night so much that he has invented "The Ted Show" which comes back by popular demand every time I am at my computer and the TV is playing, which is, well, every night.

My week days are pretty routine. Come home, walk River, Jet and Ted for about 45 minutes or so. Drop them off, get Caden, go for another 45 minutes. Come home. Train Caden. Grab a bite. By this time is it 7:30. Turn on the TV, turn on the computer, and ....

......IT'S THE TED SHOW!

Tonight I took a series of photos to demonstrate his fancy routine. Please feel free to show this to your dogs, as I am sure it will spice up your evenings the way it does mine! Please imagine viewing these as stills from a short documentary...

Step One, Ted gets my attention:

Steps 2-4: He assumes his position on "his stage" - right in front of the TV and begins to play with his ball, but "accidentally loses grip of it" as the play progresses...

Step 5: OOPS! Ted drops the ball

Steps 6-8: Ted assumes cute poses, as he can't possibly get his own ball. Wouldn't it be fun if I was to join the game? He emphasizes through his actions that he is NOT getting that ball!

Step 9: I am successfully drawn in, and throw it back to him. I caught a great shot of him about to catch it!

Step 10: Begin again

River comes by to check his ball, but likes her own better. As you can see, Ted is relaxed with River, unlike the other night when Jet swooped in to steal the ball!

Ted and River take their balls to a more comfortable spot. Oh no, Ted is about to drop it again! He is really enamoured with his invention of dropping the ball by accident!

You can enjoy this game in 10 easy steps, thanks to Ted's cooperation in the creation of this tutorial.

How can I resist such a cute face?