Lots of happenings in the nest

We've had a busty October.  We went away for Thanksgiving weekend and my guys got to be farm dogs.  They loved it.  Rylie may have loved it a bit too much because several days after we got back he decided he couldn't put any weight on his right front foot.  X-rays or physical exam didn't reveal anything.  The vet felt it might be a strained shoulder (which is what I had been thinking).  He was to be on extremely limited activity for two weeks.  That honestly wasn't hard for the two days that he was walking on three weeks.  We did daily massage, twice daily epsom salts wraps and he wore his back on track jacket.  On the second day I noticed he was putting a bit of weight on his leg at lunch time and by supper time you wouldn't have known he'd ever been hurt.  After that limiting his activity became more difficult.  I managed for a week and then called the vet back and got the go ahead to start building him up to normal activity.

Last Friday we had a trial and since he seemed sound I let him run all four runs he was entered in.  Saturday morning he was walking three legged again.  It only lasted a couple of hours but he clearly isn't 100% healed so we are being careful.

The trial was at a lovely indoor venue.  Max was quite worried about the whole thing.  He left me to sniff which he hasn't done for a very long time.  He was very slow off of his start lines all day which generally means he is stressed.  When he was running well I was late with my cues so no Q's for us.  I thought we had worked through this issue (the stress on the start line) but I guess it's still a work in progress.

Rylie was just so darned excited to do agility that he was a bit wild.  He tried his best to do what I asked but sometimes his body just had more momentum than he could handle.  I always have fun with him though and don't have to worry if he is too stressed.

During the month Max got a certificate for his Masters Agility Dog of Canada.  I hadn't realized he had earned it at the last trial we were at - cool.

Awesomeness

It's been a really awesome couple of weeks in the training/trialing department.  Last Saturday we went to an agility trial.  I had really tried hard to dig into the motivation issues Max had on Labour Day weekend (other than the heat).  I asked a coach/mentor how I could get Max aroused enough to focus on me instead of the environment before starting a run.  She turned the question around and asked me if I was 100% focused on Max or if I was thinking about how I was going to handle/ when I needed to go into the ring etc.  She even went so far as to bet that I was not 100% focused on Max.  I thought about it for awhile and realized that while I truly believed I was giving Max 100% attention I really was thinking about all of those other things as well.  My only goal last weekend was to stay connected with him prior to the run starting (during too but once we get started things seem to settle out).  Lo and behold he had three fabulous runs.  We missed the Q in Gamblers due to me mishandling the gamble but got Q's in both master snooker and master standard.  Max was drivey and focused for all three runs.

Rylie and I had some differences of opinion.  In the standard run he told me in no uncertain terms that if I expected him to put his Cavalier King Charles nose in the dirt at the end of the contacts I was batsh** crazy.  Regardless of that the run was really nice - an off course jump and popping the weaves meant no Q but other than the ongoing fight about contact criteria things are coming together.  In the gambler run he actually got the gamble but because he chose to run his own course in the opening rather than the one I'd planned he didn't have enough points (if he insists on doing this I'm going to have to teach him to add).  In snooker he apparently realized the error of his ways and agreed to the course I planned - we did get a Q for that one!

Last Sunday was the CFSO picnic.  Great fun with lots of Cavaliers of all sizes running around.  I won a door prize again this year - Yeah!

Saturday we had another trial.  Max was totally awesome.  It was cool and he loves to play agility in that weather.  His jumpers run was lovely other than the fact I missed jump #15.  Max did exactly what I asked.  I had run the course a few minutes earlier with Rylie and managed to get all the obstacles so why I missed it I don't know.  I made the judge very sad.  Rylie ran the jumpers pretty well.  He is just barely in master jumpers and all the handling is something he's just getting used to.  I think he only had 5 faults so I call that successful.

Next was our gamble run.  Both dogs have been over a year without a gamble Q.  Working away from me isn't something we practice a lot and while neither of them mind me being a distance.  This course was ideal for us as the distance part came after they were already going.  Both dogs got a Q.

Standard was really nice too.  Max ran beautifully and got a Q.  Rylie ran well (we are still arguing about contacts).  A late handling move on my part cost us the Q.  We had worked on weave poles during the week and his weaves were lovely though.

Today we went to a jumping seminar after our weekly lesson.  I got some good feedback from the dogs and now I have some additional things to work on.  Next trial isn't until the end of October.

Weekend Training

This was my second week training both dogs in the same class and I think I'm going to enjoy it.  Rylie barks at me when I take Max as if to say "Hey - you've got the wrong one" but he settles down and quietly waits his turn.

I had some time this week to reflect on last weekend's trial and the events that led up to Max deciding to leave the ring instead of running his final run.

1.  It was incredibly hot - Max is not a fan of running in the heat (neither am I for that matter).

2.  I had to run the dogs back to back.  It was a small trial and they told me to take my time but I allowed myself to feel self imposed pressure to get back into the ring quickly.  Rylie ran first and I immediately (after loving him up a bit) handed him off to my trainer and grabbed Max.  I left the treat/tug toy with my trainer just outside the ring so she could give Rylie treats.  Max and I ALWAYS tug before a run.  I haven't noticed it really gets him more aroused (which is what I'm hoping for)  but regardless that is what we do and he gets a few treats as we warm up.  This time nada.  We get to the line and of course there is no hope Max will be focused without our warmup so he isn't.  He looks around and sees my trainer just outside the ring feeding Rylie treats (well kibble but still).  If you were a highly food motivated dog where would you rather be?  Bingo - Max made a beeline for the treats.

3.  Did I mention it was stinking hot?

Moral of the story.  I did Max a great disservice but not giving him a proper warm up with my full attention.  I am not an experienced enough handler to run two dogs back to back.  I should have either taken all the time I needed to go through our warm up routine or been more assertive that they put at least one dog between us, or just scratched the run.

Lessons learned at class today.  Running Max makes me feel like I know what I'm doing.  Running Rylie first over the same course is humbling.

Labour Day Weekend

It's been a busy weekend here in the land of emptynest.  We (and by this I mean 90% engineering dad) are in the midst of painting (which I'm barely allowed to do) and redecorating - which I am allowed to do.  Saturday was shopping for some cupboard hardware as engineering dad is building me a pantry closet.  Sunday the boys and I had a nice long run in the woods (well they ran anyway) and in the afternoon we went down to our local wading pool for the Pooch Plunge.  Both of my guys thought this was a super fantastic idea - although Rylie may have wished that those pesky Golden's would keep away from his ball.  After a try or two neither of them had an issue with the makeshift ramp and were easily able to get themselves in and out of the pool.  It was hot and sunny and was a beautiful day for a swim.

Today we had an agility trial.  Max ran first and turned in a truly awesome performance in his master standard run for a Q.  He was very pokey in the snooker and we got whistled off when he took the wrong side of a jump.  It was a really tricky course  - or else I picked a really bad route but I doubt we would have made it as far as we did if he had been running his normal speed.  By the time jumpers came up in mid afternoon Max decided that he just wasn't playing the game and left the ring.  There might have been a couple of things preventing him from having the focus he should have but I will have to consider just not running him outside in the summer.

Rylie's standard run was really nice.  His contacts were lovely.  A pop out in the weaves cost us the Q. I think I could have restarted him but he never pops out and I just decided to carry on and be happy with the run.  His advanced snooker was lovely and we did get a Q in that one.  The master jumpers course was tricky and pretty twisty turny.  Rylie took one wrong end of a tunnel but otherwise was spot on.  I think we are starting to gel as a team and I am starting to be able to see the course a bit better from his viewpoint.
All in all I was thrilled with Max's standard run and al three of Rylie's runs.  I am mildly concerned with Max's last two runs  but we have two more trials this month so we'll see how they go.  I was much happier with my handling and decision making than I was last weekend.

Dog Class

I have taken both of my dogs to class of some sort since they were young puppies.  For some reason being at class two nights a week has been really wearing me out lately.  After talking to my trainer I decided to try taking them both to the same class and working them separately.  They aren't very different as far as their levels but they do require totally different handling skills.

One thing I was a bit hesitant about was that I knew Ryie's facade would be blown.  Everyone thinks (well thought) he is an angel dog who sits quietly in his chair waiting his turn.  This is true as long as Max isn't taking his turn!  The first time I ran Max and left Rylie sit on the chair my instructor noted "He is rather indignant isn't he" - in other words he was yelling at me!  I gave her three pieces of kibble and told her (because being a trainer it clearly wouldn't have occurred to her) to only give them to him if he settled down.  Well he did and she did.  When it was Rylie's turn he decided he'd changed his mind and would rather stay with the cookie lady.  Knowing that Rylie is pretty high drive and only having Border Collies my trainer was shocked.  I however was not.  Sadly either of my dogs would sell me for a piece of kibble.........

All in all the class went pretty well and I think I will continue taking both to the same class for the time being.

We have an agility trial on Monday.  Last weekend I handled like I'd never seen a dog or an agility course before so I'm hoping to hold up my end of the team better this weekend.

Beaches and Dog Parks

The dogs and I love swimming so finding dog friendly beaches is a priority for me when we go camping.  Some of my observations are - the dog beaches are about as far away from the camping area as possible - in our favourite campground it's about a 6 - 8 km bike ride,  the parking lot for the dog beaches is usually full to overflowing even when the human only beach parking lots are half full.  Also noticed from our early morning wanderings outside the designated dog area to the two legged only part of the beach - the dog beaches tend to be far cleaner.  Maybe why I see so many people on these beaches without dogs.  Dog people appreciate the opportunity to frolic in the water with their four legged friends so we tend to be responsible and clean up after ourselves and our dogs as we don't want to lose the privilege.  This still makes me scratch my head though - at the provincial park we were at this weekend not only was the dog beach far far away from where everyone else swam but appeared to be in one of the most ecologically sensitive areas of the park as it was a mating area for some endangered frog - dogs were to stay out of the pond area.  Now this didn't appear to be a difficult task - why frolic in a stagnant pond when there was a huge lake mere metres away - but still - The dogs can't read.  Maybe once again the park people think dog owners will be more responsible than the general public.  It was windy and threatening rain when we were there so my guys just ran on the beach - Rylie's one foray into the water resulted in him being toppled by a wave so he wisely decided the beach would do.

We have been to several dog parks in the area but our favourite bar none is the London off leash dog park.  It's always busy - probably one of the busiest parks in the city I'd guess.  It is a lovely park area but the major difference between it and other parks we've been to is that people walk through with their dogs instead of just stand at the entrance and let the dogs go off and play.  It's rare that I've been there and couldn't identify what dog is with what person.  My dogs love it there and we've always had good experiences.

Weekend Fun

Max and I did something different this weekend.  A friend told me about a CKC fun rally and agility match near us so we signed up.  Now I've never done rally before but this same friend told me it wasn't too difficult and that we could do it.  CKC's idea of a fun meet wasn't quite what I was expecting as there was no training in the ring.  Also - there is far more to rally than just sits downs and heeling.  I really had no clue what we were doing and had to get a quick lesson on the commands but Max was an awesome team mate and just went with the flow.  He listened to very unconventional commands such as "oh oh Max - now you have to blind cross me and get in close" - pretty sure that's not an official obedience command!  Regardless we managed to get a qualifying score under a very generous judge.  It was fun.  We might take some rally classes this winter during our agility hiatus.

In the afternoon was the agility.  Since we have never competed in CKC both dogs were in novice.  I had some very specific goals for both dogs in the standard.  With Max my goal was to have him blast off the start line.  He was a bit distracted walking into the ring but started well in both runs.  The rest of the runs went fine too - a couple of handling errors caused faults but I was happy.

With Rylie my goal was to be consistent with contact criteria.  His aframe contact was lovely but he didn't stop on the dog walk and I let him keep going :-(.  In our defence though the dog walk was a lot lower than what we are used to.  The rest of the run was lovely and he actually beat Max (although I'm not telling Max).

I let Engineering Dad run Rylie in the jumpers course.  It was far harder than any starters jumpers course I have ever run and now I think Engineering Dad has a lot more respect for the fact that there really is some skill involved in handling!

It was a good day and fun was had by all though.

We are still woefully behind on the contact course but I do have some nice shiny new equipment compliments of Engineering Dad and we are making progress.