Dog Gone Happy

Week 4 + ice storm

2012-01-28T15:04:00.000-05:00

Below are this weeks '52 weeks' photos and some photos from our recent ice storm. Thankfully it's all melted now, but we went from the ice to heavy rain and gail force winds. Already setting records for rainfall totals for January.

Iced Maple:

Cold bird house:

Permafrost bone: (dog bone on the patio in solid ice)

Frozen Fence:

Fence close-up:

Encased long grass:

Mailbox handle: (this was as far from home as I dared to venture)

Pretty Pine:

I think this is my favorite shot of the bunch:

Looking up:

Icy siding:

Tree branch:

Sparkling weeds:

The Interrogation:

The monthly challenge for the Facebook group was "Film Noir". This is WAY different than anything I have ever done! I'm SO glad I recently bought a photo editing program :-) Had fun playing around with it.

I set this up in my basement using a shop light and put a ball right in front of him on the floor. He stared at it for quite awhile, then, as I knew he would, he raised just his eyes (waiting for me to say he could get the ball).

I changed the original to black and white (except his eyes) and added the "vingette" (black corners). I am SUPER pleased with how this turned out for my very first "film noir" photo! I just might have to do more of these :-)

To see it larger, go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/scoutdogs/6747332419/in/photostream
If you click on the photo on Flickr, you can see it larger and on a black background where the effect is enhanced.

FEET!

I did this for this week's Flickr photo. I visited several stores (& used Home Depot flooring samples) and had Dazzle lay down on multiple surfaces. Used my new Paintshop Pro software (that I found on sale for 50% off!) to arrange the photos. This one is definitely better viewed on black to see the kalidascope effect.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/scoutdogs/6758050911/in/photostream

Click on the Flickr photo to see it on black.

Here is one of Dazzle showing him in position for the photo in the top left above. I love his "Have you lost your mind?" expression.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/scoutdogs/6758042831/in/photostream

Week 3 of 52 weeks of photos

2012-01-19T17:57:00.000-05:00

This week, I submitted 2 different photos to the different "52 weeks" challenge groups. The first (for Flickr) was something I had rattling around in my head for awhile.

I drew the dog body on foam core board and put together a PVC frame so it would stand on it's own. Dazzle was positioned on a platform because I needed both the board and him to be up a bit. This is so I could crop out the sidewalk and bottom of the wall. I did a few test shots and found out I had to cut the board down a bit. I also scooped the neck a little. Dazzle was so patient and let me squish him up against the building and behind the board.

I waited for the thunderstorms (yes, T storms in mid JANUARY!) and gail force winds to subside and then used the bright sun filtered through clouds for the lighting. I think my camera's sensor was fooled by the white board because I would have liked better lighting/definition on Dazzle's face. But when I looked at it on the back of the camera, it looked ok. By the time I got home and found his face was dark, the lighting was full sun and the shadows that would cause wouldn't be good.

The photo I used for the Facebook "working dogs" group was of Dazzle's icy chest. I had been throwing the ball in the yard (about 30 times) with the chuck-it and I guess he got hot (even though he wasn't really panting very much). He went to his pool and was pawing at the ice. I didn't think he would actually go in so I didn't stop him. Then he tried to step onto the ice and it broke. He didn't fall in, but did test the water several times with his feet (again, I didn't think he would go in). But then he surprized me and jumped right in!

I expected him to jump out of the frigid water just as fast as he jumped in, but no. He stood in the water and got a drink just like he does in the summer when the water is warm. Now that he was soaked (and not even shivering!) I had to throw the ball a few more times to help dry him off (thankfully he dries fast).

After the second throw, I realized the water on his hair was freezing! So I had my husband bring the camera and got a few shots of his frozen fur.

It's pretty clear from the photo below he wasn't the least bit bothered by the icy cold. All he wanted was for me to put the camera down and throw the ball again!

The rest of the week will be busy. Agility practice tomorrow night, Disk Dog competition on Saturday and Obedience show n' go on Sunday. Dazzle just can't understand why I'm asking him to rest today :-)

52 weeks photos- week 1 and 2

2012-01-14T03:49:00.001-05:00

I have been remiss in posting my photos to the blog, sorry. Here are only a few of the best of the over 400 photos I have taken so far with my new camera. :-)

While visiting family, Dazzle was greatly enjoying the few inches of snow. and I took the opportinity to get some action shots. I sent him away from me and had him stop and stay till I was ready, then called him back and threw the ball up as he got to where I wanted him to be. I got several really great photos this way!

The following photo was my choice for week 1 of both "52 weeks" groups. I love his teeth that are visible through the ball, the turn of his rear foot, the flying snow, the way he is looking right at the camera. I only wish his tail was in this one :-) You can see all the detail by looking at it in a larger size here: (http://www.flickr.com/photos/scoutdogs/6637006387/sizes/o/in/set-72157628378421005/) Click on the link, then click on the photo, then in the upper right click on "view all sizes" and select "original".

Almost jumped out of the frame on this one!

Love the detail I got using the bright, cloud filtered light!

Can you tell he dove into the snow for this one? LOL

For the second week, I wanted to again get some action shots, but since it dramatically warmed up and all the snow melted fast onto the already saturated ground, there was a LOT of mud!

I had a harder time than I thought I would finding a location that wasn't underwater and where it would be safe to have Dazzle off leash. I ended up in a vacant lot within an industrial area. I would have prefered a "dog's eye" level for these, but then I would have had industrial buildings in the background. I was hoping to get a shot of him doing a sliding stop after catching the ball and sending mud flying, but he was being careful (a good thing) and only did that a few times (the times after I gave up on getting that shot and started trying to get the catch) :-)

Below is my submission for the 52 weeks for dogs group. You can see it larger here: (http://www.flickr.com/photos/scoutdogs/6674919211/in/set-72157628378421005/) Click on the link, then click on the photo to get it bigger. If you want to see it really large, click on the "view all sizes" in the upper right.

The best I could capture on the "slide"

Can't you just hear the movie effects screeching brakes :-) (no, he didn't fall)

I submitted the following for the Facebook "52 weeks for working dogs" group. Since it was closer, I thought it would show up better in the relatively small photos on Facebook and it's still very dramatic.

I'm looking forward to next week because I have a fun idea!

Flickr features and helpful hints

2012-01-02T14:39:00.005-05:00

I have been uploading photos to Flickr for awhile, but I just recently started to USE Flickr when I was accepted into a Flickr group called "52 weeks for dogs". Since that time, I have learned a few of the other features besides just how to upload and organize photos into sets. I searched Flickr and found this set of FAQ's that are helpful, but they don't seem complete to me. ( http://www.flickr.com/help/general/) There is a drop down menu at the bottom of the page to other sections too. They tell you about a feature, but not how to find it. So hopefully this post will help you learn some of the stuff I have been struggling to find and figure it out on my own. Screen shots are from my own account at: (http://www.flickr.com/photos/scoutdogs/)

I do have a "pro" account (which means I paid $24.95 for a year). I know it gets me unlimited space for my photos, but I don't know what other features I might have that a free account doesn't. So if something looks different on your free account, that might be why.

Note: you can click on photos in my blog to make them a bit bigger

Above is the screen I see when I go to my Flickr account. I added some numbers in red for reference as I talk about various features. Here's an overview of what you can access on this page:

#1) Home - This is a good place to get started if you are new to Flickr and might be the page you see when you first start. From this page, you can Personalize your profile, upload photos, and find friends. It will also show you some recent photos you have added to your "photostream", will show you recent photos from any contacts you may have and recent photos from any groups you belong to.

#2) You - This link takes you to many features and lets you access all YOUR stuff. If you aren't seeing a page that looks like the one above, the page you ARE on will likely still show you items 1-8 above. Click on "you" (#2) and it will take you to your photostream (which should look something like the page above). By clicking on the little down arrow next to "You" (#2) you can see a menu of features. This includes:

Your Photostream- This is all the photos you have uploaded
Your sets- groups of photos that have a similar theme or something else in common (determined by you)
Your collections- groups of sets
Your galleries- Photos from other people that you want to put in a "gallery" on your Flickr page
Your archives- Your uploading history (this makes it easier to find an older photo if you know when you uploaded it)
Your tags- Another way to locate your photos if you have added "tags" (keywords) related to the photo
Your map- This is not a feature I have used. I think you can drag/drop photos in the organize/create feature onto a map to show where they were taken. Nice for general reference or for vacation photos
Your favorites- you can mark other people's photos as a favorite and then find them again here
Your stats- this is something you can activate and it gives you data on what photos other people have been viewing on your page.
Your apps- Another feature I haven't used
Recent activity- this is VERY HELPFUL to view comments made on your photos and replies to comments you have made on other people's photos.
Photos of you- these are photos that you or someone else has "tagged" you in
Upload photos and video- It's faster to just use the upload link (#7 in the reference photo above)
Your account- allows you to edit:

your personal info

what photo appears next to your name (your "buddy icon")
your screen name
your profile information
What your photostream page looks like

privacy settings

who can see what you post
who can copy your photos
who can add you to a photo
who can put your photos in their "gallery"
If your Exif data is displayed
who can see your profile
privacy defaults for new uploads
and more

Emails and notifications tab allows you to decide who can contact you and what Flickr sends you emails about, like:

new photos posted by your contacts
comments made on your photos
when someone sends you a message
and more

The sharing and extending tab lets you connect your Flicker account with Facebook, twitter, a blog and more. This means that each time you upload a photo, it also gets posted to those other accounts.

Your profile- allows you to tell others about yourself. How much you share and who can see it is up to you.
Your Flickr Mail- Note that the icon marked above as #8 is a faster and esier way to access your Flickr email.

#3) Organize and create- This is where you can organize the photos and videos that you upload. Clicking on the down arrow next to Organize and create lets you access the tabs on that page directly. You'll see a main box and the photos you have uploaded in a "filmstrip" at the bottom. This page doesn't have the usual links at the top, so you'll have to use the "back" arrow to get back to your main page. Or click on "your Photostream" at the top right of the page.

Batch organize tab- This lets you work on photos several at a time. You can drag photos from the filmstrip into the main work area, and then use the links near the top of the work area to edit the chosen photos (edit photos, permissions, edit dates, add (tag) people, add tags (key words), add to set (allows you to add several photos at once to a set), send to group (if you belong to a group on Flickr, you can use this to send one or more photos directly to the group.

Sets and collections tab- This lets you click on the title of a set or collection and arrange and organize the photos within that set or collection. You can drag photos from the filmstrip into the set folder, change the order of the photos within the set and drag a photo to the folder photo over the set description text box. By dragging and dropping a photo into that box, it will change which photo shows on your photostream (if you have chosen to display your sets). You can change the title of the set and it's description too. IMPORTANT! If you make ANY changes, you have to click on the "save" button under the description to make those changes stay.

Delete a set- If you want to delete a set, you'll find the link to do that right under the tabs at the top of the work area.

Also in that area, be sure to click on the drop down arrows to get more features for arranging and editing the photos in your set or collection.

Print and create tab- Flickr has many options you can use to have your photos printed or turned into creative things like cards, photo books and calendars.

Groups tab- another way to drag/drop your photos to a group you belong to.

Map tab- I think this allows you to drag and drop photos from the filmstrip onto the map to show where they were taken. You can use the slider bar on the right to zoom in or out on the map. You can set the default privacy controls and then if you want to, you can change the privacy controls for individual photos.

#4 Contacts - Use the drop down arrow to see

the most recent uploads that your contacts have made
photos your contacts are "tagged" in
your list of contacts (you can also block people from here)
find people you may know
invite people you know to be a contact
see your history of invitations
invite a non-Flickr member to see your photos
to pay for a Flickr account for someone

#5 Groups - Allows you to see:

The groups you belong to
Recent Changes- Helpful! This allows you to see the new discussions and new posts/replies. If you click on the part that says how many replies there are, it will take you to the start of the new comments.
Search for a group- put in any topic and odds are good there is a Flickr group related to that topic. Some groups are open to anyone to join, others require approval before you can participate. And if you don't find what you are looking for, you can create a new group.

#6 Explore - This is your link to other places on Flickr. The first few items are the "Explore" links. I'm not really sure how this works, but I think it might be the top "favorite" photos? However these are selected, it's a lot of really fantastic photos! If you want to get lost for awhile in great photos, just take a stroll! Most of the other features on this menu I haven't explored, but they seem self-explanatory.

#7 Upload - This is a quick link to the photo uploader tool

#8 Mail icon - If this is lit up with a number next to it, you have messages waiting to be read. Click on the envelope to go to the Flickr mail page. Here you can see your "inbox", your contacts history and messages you have sent. You can also click on "compose a new message". In the "to" box, put any letter of the recipient's screen name to get a list of potential contacts to pop up.

Items 9-17 are quick links

#9 Collections - takes you to any collections you have (groups of various sets)

#10 Sets - groups of individual photos

#11 Galleries - If you don't have any galleries created, you'll see a link to how to set one up. These are collections you have made of other people's photos. Helpful! This page also lets you see if any of your photos are in other people's galleries.

#12 Tags - allows you to see and search the tags (key words) you have put on your photos.

#13 People - These are photos in which you have "tagged" (added) names of the subjects in your photos. If you take a photo of someone you know and they are a flickr member and you know their screen name, you can add them on the photo and that photo will appear when you click on the "people" link.

#14 Archives - your upload history

#15 Favorites - other people's photos you have marked as your favorites

#16 Popular - your most popular photos based on the number of times they have been viewed by others

#17 Profile - quick link to your profile page.

#18 Sets - This is a quick link to your sets. Depending on how you choose to have your photostream page displayed, this may or may not be visible.

OTHER TIPS AND TRICKS

When you open one of your photos, you have many options:

Above the photo on the left side you'll see a drop down arrow next to "actions". This lets you:

Add a tag (key words)
Add a note
Add a person (if the photo is of yourself or someone you know)
Add the photo to your map
Add or remove the photo from a set
Add it to a group (that you belong to)
View it in different sizes (where you can also order prints)
View it as part of a slideshow of your photo stream
View the Exif data for the photo (helpful if someone asks questions about what settings you used to shoot the photo or if you want to keep a record of that data)
Order prints and other photo products from Flickr
Rotate the photo
Edit the photo using a product partner called "picnik" that has several features (Important! Don't forget to use the "save" button!)
Edit the photo title, tags and dates
Replace the photo with a new one (Helpful if you edit the original photo and want to replace the older version with a newer version without having to re-add it to groups and add the title and description info again.)
Delete the photo (Note! This removes it from Flickr all together) If you want to remove it from a set, use the "organize and create" feature.

On the page of an open photo, you'll also see (to the right of the photo):

What camera was used to take the photo and when it was taken (if the camera provides that data and the date is correctly set in the camera)
Where it was taken (if you provide that info)
If the photo is in any sets or collections
A quick link to add tags (key words)
The privacy settings you have for the photo and a link to change the settings

Below the photo you'll see any comments viewers have left for you and you can also use the comment box to reply or add additional info.

Photo titles and descriptions- If you want to change the photo title or description, just open the photo and click on them and make the changes. Don't forget to hit the "save" button! You can also change the titles and descriptions of a group of photos using the "organize and create" page.

Groups:

Groups are where photographers with a similar interest get together to share photos of that interest. See above for how to find groups you might want to join or watch. Once you join a few groups, your photos will get more exposure to others and you'll get more comments on them. It's also lots of fun to "meet" other people with similar interests and see their photos.

Group pool- The main "photostream" of a group is called a Group pool. I'm guessing all groups have a quick link to the group pool page where you'll see the photos that were most recently uploaded by group members. There is a "more photos" link at the bottom right that will take you to more of the photos in the order they were uploaded.

Touring photos- If you click on one of the photos, you can use the "newer" and "older" buttons at the top right above the photo to scroll through others. This works on an individual's page too.

What you can do with other people's photos- At the top left of their photo, you'll see other options like marking it as a favorite. Under actions you can: add it to your gallery, view it in various sizes, see the EXIF data, and view the photos as a slideshow. Under share you can: share the photo through email, facebook or twitter if the person has allowed that.

Seeing it bigger/ viewing on black- If you click on the image, you can see it a bit larger with a black background (same with any image on Flickr). Some photos look much better on black. Then you can use the "older/newer" buttons to see all the photos in that set with a black background and fewer details.

Commenting- You can click on a photo and scroll down below any existing comments to find a comment box where you can leave a note for the photographer (and others) to see. If you are not a member of the group, this function may not be available to you.

Discussion- The groups I belong to have a "discussion" link on the group pool page. Discussions are like public emails that all group members can comment on. As with the photo comments, you can click on a discussion topic that interests you and you'll find a comment box at the bottom where you can add your own thoughts on the topic.

Adding a photo into a comment or discussion- To add a photo, open that photo to get the web address (starts with (http:") and copy that (hold the left mouse button while you slide your cursor over the address). When it's all highlighted, right click and select "copy". Now go to the spot where you want the photo and right click to select "paste". The link should appear. IMPORTANT! Add brackets around the link so it looks like this: [link] When you click on "post now" the photo will appear.

To make the photo larger: Open the photo on your photostream, click on "share" above the photo, select HTML and "medium 500". Copy the code in the box and paste it into your comment. The photo will be larger than if you just put brackets around the page link as described above.

Editing your discussion posts- In tiny print under your discussion post, you'll see "edit". Click on that to make changes to what you wrote.

Editing or deleting your comments- Under each comment you have made, you'll see tiny text that lets you edit or delete what you wrote.

Key board shortcuts-
When viewing a photo, if you type ? anywhere on the page it will take you to the keyboard reminder pop up below. It will also allow you access to turn on these keyboard shortcuts by check marking the little box in the upper right hand side of the pop-up box:

? Takes you to the shortcut menu above (also at the very bottom of each photo page)
Right Arrow- takes you directly to the next photo
Left arrow- Takes you directly to the previous photo
> moves the film strip to the right
< moves the film strip to the left
] (right bracket) open the next filmstrip
[ (left bracket) open the previous film strip
S moves your cursor to the search box
F allows you to instantly "Favorite" the photo
G allows you to add it to a group (if you have permission)
E allows you to add it to a set
A add to your gallery (if it's not your photo and the owner has given permission for the photo to be added to a gallery)
C puts your cursor in the comment field (nice way to quickly leave a comment without having to scroll through all the previous comments)
T Jumps to the "add a tag" field
P Jumps to the "add a person" field"
L lets you view the photo with a black background (lightbox)

That's all I have for now. I'll add new tips as I come across them. If you have found this helpful, you can let me know by sending my an email through my Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/scoutdogs/

Happy shooting!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-28T12:51:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas from the family

Dazzle, Bear, King, Coyote

(Malinois, Beagle, Beagle, Cattle Dog)

Visiting family for holidays

2011-12-27T21:06:00.000-05:00

I made the mistake of bringing in Dazzle's new JAWS disk. I put it up on the cabinet, but had to leave it hanging over the edge just a bit so I could get it. He sat and stared at it, occasionally offering a trick, for over 30 minutes. I finally had to give in and take him to a local field to play catch.

Unfortunately, with all the rain that has been falling, the fields were all a big mess. So I went to a local rubberized running track at the school thinking that would help keep him mud free. And it would have if he wasn't such a mud puppy! This shot shows the big mud puddle he chose to go out of his way to run through after each throw.

This was the result. A (sort of) tired, happy and VERY muddy dog. Click on this to enlarge it to see the full effects

He even had mud in his mouth/teeth, but didn't seem to care

So I ended up having to give him a bath because I couldn't get nearly enough mud off with just a towel. He wasn't too pleased, but didn't jump out.

We are currently visiting family and this is their tree. Definitely want to click on this to see the great detail.

One of my Christmas presents was a new camera and I think it did a GREAT job with the photo above. Especially since the room was only lit by the window light and I was shooting right into that. I'm looking forward to trying it out on action shots.

My brother and his family came over to celebrate and my brother enjoyed teasing Dazzle by juggling with Dazzle's toys

My niece loves Dazzle and Dazzle loves her. He didn't pass up this opportunity to do the "Malinois peek" through her legs while she was playing on her dad's lap

And he didn't even mind when she sat on his head!

Coyote decided he had enough of the festivities and found a comfy place to sleep

Then Bear took over the covers (once they got moved) and made himself at home

Today, it is snowing great big flakes. Supposed to get a few inches of accumulation by tomorrow.

Dazzle will be SO happy!! He has been begging to go outside since it started sticking and has been jumping up to catch the falling snow. I didn't get him doing it with the super big flakes, but here is a short video of him catching the falling snow flakes:

VIDEO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTr5pWlvxjU

This week's photos

2011-12-22T02:08:00.000-05:00

Took Dazzle for his annual photo with Santa. Santa didn't seem to be in a good mood. Can't imagine why. Doesn't everyone love kids that kick and scream at the top of their lungs?

Actually, the (3 yr old?) kid that followed us was so focused on Dazzle that he didn't even see Santa till he was plunked on his lap. Then he took one look at Santa, let out a blood curdling scream and kicked and flailed for all he was worth. Poor Santa. NOT a job I would want!

I didn't have much time this week to get a photo for the photography group. I wanted to play with the focus settings of my little point and shoot and I did manage to accomplish that. But it's not a photo I love. I'd like to revisit this idea when I'm able to do it outside with better light. I used a photo editor to black out the background and take some of the over exposure off the ball. Ball is in focus with Dazzle' legs blurry. And no, I didn't crop out his back legs, they are perfectly aligned with his front legs. I also like the way it looks like he's standing on the ball.

weekly photo- silhouette

2011-12-19T01:46:00.000-05:00

I decided at the start of the week that I wanted to do a silhouette photo this week, but I should have looked at the forecast first! It was cloudy and overcast all week, but today (technically yesterday) it finally broke!

On Wednesday, I tried to create a set-up in the basement that would give me a silhouette type shot, but it didn't work. I tried hanging a white curtain panel in front of some bright lights, but it was too thin and the lights were all visible. Then I tried a white plastic shower curtain and it wasn't opaque enough. So I gave up and hoped for a clear day :-)

Since it was clear, I headed up to the dam and found the light to be in just the right position. I took several photos as the sun went down, playing around with the various "scene" settings on my camera. But ended up happiest with the auto setting and the shot I got right before two deer popped out of the woods. I was SO happy Dazzle has a solid stay! But I quickly clipped on the leash and called it quits because he was VERY interested in the deer who were not the least bit afraid of us. Too dark by that time to get a shot of the deer.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out! I think this was my first intentional silhouette shot

I'll definitely be trying this again, maybe when it gets warmer? :-) I'd like to get a more colorful sunset. It's so hard to find good open spots to get a photo like this in our river valley. So I'll also be on the look out during the year for good spots when we're travelling too.

Obedience photos

2011-12-16T22:31:00.001-05:00

The photo disk arrived in the mail today!
Here are the photos taken by Paw Prints Life

Recall

Heel on leash

Such a typical sideways look :-)

Heel off leash

Waiting for recall cue

On his way to me on the recall

Heel on leash

Stand for exam

I have another shot like this that this photographer did and I love it too.

Heel off leash- not sure what I'm doing with my right shoulder

Had to get this one because it makes me laugh everytime I see it. I'm sure there's a good caption just waiting to be expressed. I think this was from the show where he laid down on the sit stay and took a nap. Not sure why he was so tired! I don't think it was stress.

And this one looks like he's laughing! I think he's actually about to sneeze :-)

Museum visit and new project

2011-12-13T18:10:00.000-05:00

Sunday was a cold and dreary day and I was looking for something to do that didn't involve sitting at the computer. The Taft art museum has free admission on Sundays and I had never visited before, so I thought it would be a nice outing. They have an historical Christmas exhibit that I thought would be interesting. So off we went.

It is a nice little museum, but I was actually more intrigued by the historic house than the art :-) I didn't take any photos because several of the exhibits say "no photos". It's an amazing house with stunning archtectural details. I talked with one of the staff and learned about it's history through 3 families and what each added to the mansion. Thankfully they all stayed true to it's historical roots and it showed.

I couldn't resist a peek out the front windows to get a view of the main entrance (no longer used as an entrance), which had to be a grand affair for visitors who then entered the very large foyer which led to the T-intersection main hallway and the "music room". I couldn't help but wonder how many "talk of the town" events were held in that room, including a wedding of one of the owner's daughters. Leaving the house, it was kind of a shock to the system since the house is located so close to downtown. Also had to navigate the traffic and tailgaters for the Bengal's game.

Since the Taft museum visit didn't take long and the Cincinnati Art Museum is close, I decided to drive up there (also free admission thanks to a grant). This museum is quite large by comparison and the layout is more like a contemporary art piece than something designed by an engineer. I felt lost in a maze and like I was missing things for almost the entire visit. But I still managed to see quite a bit of amazing art in all forms. And I took several photos, where I was allowed.

I thought this would make an interesting photo.

Actually, everyone was really great about not touching him or bothering him for the most part. Maybe it was from the hands-off and hushed feel of the museum?

Here is the contemporary art piece that they had to label as art so people would know. Big brass colored box, who knew this is art? Or that what looked to me like a paint covered drop cloth on the wall (not shown) is also art. I think I own one of those pieces and MINE was painted by my dogs! But then contemporary isn't really a style that "speaks" to me. Thankfully there was plenty of other interesting art in many forms to see.

I tried to use the flash to get this photo, but it was reflecting off the bench. So I took one without the flash, not sure how it would turn out. I had to lighten it in a photo editing program, but I like the effect. Click on the photo to enlarge it to read the bench.

This hand carved bed was amazing! Along with each of the other matching bedroom pieces.

This is some of the detail of the headboard. The photo just doesn't do it justice. Some of the birds were only barely touching the headboard.

Another bed in the asian wing. I think this is Cherry wood, very intricately carved. As you can probably tell, I like and am impressed by intricate carving.

This was the only piece Dazzle showed any interest in, so I had to get his photo with it. When we walked in, we were looking at the side on the right in this photo and I think he was trying to figure out if it was alive or moving/falling. After a quick sniff, he had no more interest in it. I got the impression Dazzle was not impressed with the art visit :-)

One section had several small "rooms" that were showcasing a single piece of art. Each room was divided by a wall of strings. I loved running my hand through them and it didn't take much to get Dazzle to go through a "wall".

While I was taking his photo, a patron came up and was talking to Dazzle (& getting his own photo of him). He knelt down just out of the frame here and had Dazzle's attention.

This was one of the main exhibits. Again, the photo doesn't do it justice. The bright overhead lights were not doing good things with my little point and shoot. And I had to wait quite awhile to get no people in this shot! Ended up having to crop a person out on the right side.

Each glass piece was simply hooked at the top (just barely) and carefully hung from the wire frame. They had a looping video playing in this room showing how the pieces were made and then hung in place.

This time I used the lighting to create interesting shadows

A simple 3 piece sculpture, in the same room with the hanging globes.

I was attempting here to get a reflection of Dazzle in the mirror without getting myself in the shot. It wasn't till I got home that I realised it was an "infinite" shot because of the mirror on the other side.

Playing around with the signs again :-)

Here I was playing around with the lines while I was taking a rest break on a comfy couch overlooking the main entrance. It would have been better if I could have had him sit directly in front of this and have his ears end up in the same place, but it was a railing, so it was too low for that. Also made it black and white because the box in the bottom right was bright red and distracting. Again, trying not to get people in the shot while also getting his ears lined up was a big challenge!

Below is my favorite shot of the entire visit. LOVE the symmetry and even his glowing eyes seem to work because they are the same color and approx. size of the other lights to each side of him. If I had a better photo editing program, I would have straightened this out the tiny bit it needs, but the program I have can't make adjustments that fine. Click on the photo to enlarge.

Which brings me to my newest project (like I don't have enough already!) I found a "52 weeks of dogs" photography group on a photo site and put in an application to join it. There is a long waiting list, so I don't know if I'll get to be an official member or not. But even if I don't, I plan to participate on my Flickr account page each week. http://www.flickr.com/photos/scoutdogs/

Per the group rules, only one dog can be the subject (main focus) for the 52 weeks, only 1 photo gets posted per week and some weeks will have an optional theme. The date function has to be properly set within my camera so that it's clear the photo was taken during the week being posted and if a week is missed, it can't be "made up" later. Each person is on their honor regarding the date setting on their camera and not cheating.

My rules for my Flickr account: I'll be posting my single favorite photo from each week in the "52 weeks favs" set. But I'll also post all the ones I like from my weekly attempts in the "52 weeks potential" set. And if I miss a week, I'll still post it to my own set, just not the group's page: http://www.flickr.com/groups/52weeks4dogs/

As if that's not enough, I'm also going to be participating in a "52 weeks of working dogs" photography group on Facebook. As you'll see on the above group page, many of the photos are staged, still shots of beloved pets. The focus of this facebook group will be on dogs that lead a more active lifestyle. Some weeks I may use the same photo for both, other weeks, I will likely use different photos. I'm hoping Santa will bring me a new camera with a faster focus/processor so that when I push the shutter button, the photo gets taken right then, instead of up to a full second later. What a novel concept! :-) I might even be able to get some action shots!

This week, I have decided I really want to get a nice silhouette, but the weather is not cooperating. I found the perfect location for a sunset photo, just need the sunset to be visible! Someone chase these clouds away please (without dropping the temp).

I don't know if this is a reasonable expectation from my point and shoot. I made some indoor attempts that didn't go so well. So I'll have to wait and see. If the weather or camera don't cooperate by Friday, I might have to punt and pick a new plan. Though I do have an idea for something I can try in the basement if I get a white sheet.

Here's an attempt that is interesting, but I'm not crazy about it

So I'll do my best to remember to post my weekly attempts here and will likely give more info about the shots here than on Facebook or Flickr.

2 down, 1 to go!

2011-12-04T20:50:00.001-05:00

Dazzle made up for the mistake yesterday by getting a 1st place ribbon today! I had meant to get a photo of him by the ring, but I wanted to wait till they removed the rally signs that were set up as soon as our class left the ring. Then I forgot to get the photo after I was done helping with steward duty. So I got this one in the living room of our two ribbons (from Friday and today)

Today's run didn't FEEL as nice as Fri and Sat, but when I looked at the video it wasn't as bad as it felt. His nice Fig 8 heeling wasn't as nice and still had issues with the about turn. But I'm VERY happy with his overall performace and attitude. Only minor things to work on for the next Q. And I'm looking forward to the next level because I think Dazzle will really like the dumbbell retrieve and the jumping.

For the stays, I got him REALLY adrenalized with some vigorous play/tug before we went in. I could tell when I first started to practice the sit stay a bit that he would have laid down again. So I had to take the chance and see if getting him amped up would help. It DEFINITELY did! His sit was great! He was a little bit more figity in the down, but I didn't see any moment where I thought he might get up. This is great progress, because I know doing this (in the not too distant past) would have made him too amped up to work.

Because of how I thought the run felt, I really didn't expect to be in the ribbons. There were 17 compeditors and a ring full of qualifiers. So I was truely surprized when our number was called for 1st place! Score was 193.5 (out of 200).

I got some great pro photos from our runs. The photographer is great at capturing shots that aren't the usual heel, sit, finish photos. Two made me laugh out loud each time I saw them, so I had to include those in the purchase. I'll post them as soon as they arrive.
I'm SO happy Dazzle likes to play these games as much as I do! :-) I promise buddy, the next level is more fun. Just need to get through one more Novice class!

VIDEO of today's run:
http://youtu.be/yZzCOo2dSYU

So close, but no Q

2011-12-03T22:45:00.000-05:00

We had another nice run, but Dazzle laid down on the sit stay. :-( He didn't look the least bit stressed, just bored and tired. My hubby wasn't feeling well and in an effort not to catch what he has, I slept in the spare room last night. Perhaps that tired Dazzle out? Maybe it was the later start time? We'll see if the 8:30 start time has an better effect on his performance.

It would figure that he's a crack of dawn dog, since I'm NOT a morning person (just like he loves cold weather and I don't) :-) So we can't get our CD title this weekend, but I'm hoping I'll only need ONE Q after tomorrow and not two :-)

We would have had a 192.5 out of 200 if he had been able to sit for 60 seconds. Here is the video of the run:

VIDEO: Nov Obed NQ
http://youtu.be/wulfjUn0IKs

AKC Novice Obedience Q

2011-12-02T22:20:00.000-05:00

Today we were up and on the road before dawn (ick!) to go to Queen City and try for a qualifying score in Novice obedience. There were 17 dogs in the class, but only 12 showed up (oops, just realised I forgot to correct that on the video and I posted the wrong number on Facebook- drat!) Anyway, I was the 8th dog into the ring and the judge decided to do the sits and downs for the first half right before my run.

No problem, more time to get ready. Mostly Dazzle relaxed in his crate till they started the downs, then I did a short warm up and was ready when the dogs left the ring. But then the judge took a bathroom break! More warm up, but in hindsight I realise I should have just used "squish" (a stand-by position I learned from Denise Fenzi that lets the dog know they can just chill out).

Once the judge was back, we went in for our run. I saw glimmers of the heeling work I have been doing. My goal is to get him to shift his weight onto his rear legs so his front legs can come up and add a bit of "prance" and flair to the exercise. It will be fun to look back on this weekend's videos and see the beginning baby steps :-) We didn't have any crowding and bumping or "contact heeling" and I'm SO happy that practice carried over into the ring! I've been working on that a bit longer than the weight shift/prance.

Another thing I was very happy with was that I was able to use some excitement building moves (leap to touch my hand) and exciting tones of voice that in the past would have had him jumping around and nipping me and getting too out of control. Now he's at a level of training and maturity that he can handle that and it will really help us as we progress. I only used a little because I didn't want to push my luck :-) But as we get more and more practice, this is coming along nicely.

I was VERY happy with our run, but I think by the end Dazzle was really wondering where the damn toy was! I think that's why his sit was crooked- he was asking "Toy? Now do I get the toy?" Silly boy. I had to grab his collar to keep him from running to the steward and grabbing his leash. I let him tug it on the way out of the ring because he sat still to let me clip it on and he was moving with me out of the ring (not pulling back on it) and not out of control (another great improvement!).

We had several dogs before our group sit/down stays so I had Dazzle rest in his crate. The sits and downs were no problem except at one point on the sit Dazzle had to inspect his boy parts and was all contorted and I really thought he was going to lay down, but he managed to get back into a good solid sit and held it. I think he just wanted to keep me on my toes :-) I was thinking lots of "up" thoughts as he was close to the ground! LOL On the down, he looked totally bored.

So we managed to get a score of 194 (out of 200) and walked out with a 4th place ribbon! No photos, but here is the video:

VIDEO: AKC Nov. Obed 1st leg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov-y5Qa3kFA

Photos from Agility Trial

2011-11-25T16:06:00.000-05:00

Here are some of the professional photos from the Nov. 11-12-13 Agility trial. Thank-you to VW Perry Photography for these!

He doesn't leave much room to spare! He did clear this without knocking the bar

A-Frame contact sequence.

I wish he wouldn't hit the floor so hard!

So much momentum his back feet come up! But they come back down and he sticks it!

Broad Jump

He gets on the table with spring in his jump so he doesn't go sliding off the other side (usually)

He loves weaves!

New title!

2011-11-13T19:59:00.000-05:00

Dazzle and Sarah

Dazzle adds another title to his list! The day started with the Standard course that he and Sarah did perfectly! Of course, I totally flubbed the video. I was told yesterday that the short leash we were using so that Sarah could ball it up in her hand was not long enough. We were using it to try to keep it out of his mouth at the start. If he was able to grab the leash, he would proceed to play tug and not let it go. But the AKC rep did say I could hand the leash runner a different leash after Dazzle got started. So I was concentrating on that job and not the video work. When I realized I was missing the run, I accidently hit the power button instead of the record button! By the time the camera was ready to record again, I only got the last three obstacles. Oh well!

His Jumper With Weaves run was a whole nuther matter! He got frustrated at the start and then skipped jump 3. Sarah got him back to it, but then he crashed jump 4 (the double), then after jump 5 he went off course to jump another jump (and took that one out) instead of turning to jump 6. And that's when he got pulled.

Other than class on Thursday and practice runs on Friday, I'll be putting my focus on Obedience in prep for the December trial. But it will be interesting to see what effect, if any, pulling him off the course has. My guess is that it will make him more careful, but we'll see!

No Q's today :-(

2011-11-12T21:21:00.000-05:00

Today was a bit shorter day. Our runs were scheduled for 3:45p and 5:40. The trial was only slightly behind schedule, but we arrived in plenty of time.

Dazzle was kind of rushed getting into the ring for standard though because the dog ahead of us crashed the tire at the 2nd jump on the course and that ended his run sooner than expected (thankfully he wasn't hurt).

It only took a very brief time to get it repaired, but that wait on the start line plus seeing his leash get picked up off the ground frustrated him a bit and in his excited, non-thinking state he tried to leap the first jump instead of adding a stride in front of it. He didn't make it and took out that jump- NQ.

But the rest of his run was really nice! :-) I didn't get video because I realised I didn't have the video camera about the time I was handing Sarah the leash to get him in the ring.

His JWW course was VERY nice! He was under control, thinking and being careful about the bars. However, he got just a hair too fast on the final line and... you can see. We missed the Q by literally a 1/2"!!
VIDEO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6WGXrYhdXo

Hopefully, tomorrow he will be able to Q for at least one of the titles, preferably both! :-)

Here is the view from his crate area:

Over 300 dogs entered in the trial! Thankfully they were not all in the building at the same time :-)

2 Q's!

2011-11-11T22:04:00.002-05:00

Happy Veteran's Day! 11-11-11

Dazzle and I headed out early to arrive at the show in time to get set-up and ready for the 9:15 run. The day started with the F.A.S.T. course. Dazzle did really well! He was calm and listening and only had a minor problem with the last jump (that can be jumped either direction). He needed 50 points to Qualify and they ended up with 73 and beat the buzzer!
VIDEO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygDw0PxTMik
Our next run wasn't scheduled till around 5:30 pm, so with 8 hours to wait, we headed home! We got back about an hour before the run and I helped with the Open level course runnning score sheets. Then it was time for our Jumpers With Weaves (JWW) run. The first 3 jumps were almost in a straight line and Dazzle got up a bit of momentum. Sarah was trying to catch up as he shot past jump 4 instead of turning. As a result, he jumped it the wrong direction earning the NQ. But he kept ALL the bars up (even the akwardly jumped one) and the rest of the run was really nice, so I'm happy with how they did.
VIDEO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQj92ZulD4g

The last run was around 7pm and was a Standard course. Dazzle was a bit tired, but he didn't get cranky and was able to remain calm and focused. I'm sure coming home instead of spending 8 hours in his crate had a LOT to do with it! He had a really nice run for 100 points and again ended up with first place!
VIDEO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNScqb0k7q8

I think we have found the key to his success! Keep him really calm before the start and during the warm-up and have a small enough leash that Sarah can ball it up in her hand so he can't get it and play tug at the start line :-) Keeping him calm helps reduce his frustration too.

So the tally so far is:

FAST - 2Q (need 1 more)
Stand - 2Q (need 1 more)
JWW - 1Q (need 2 more)

We have 2 more runs in JWW and Standard this weekend. Will have to wait till the next show for the next FAST Q.

The red/white ribbon in the center is the "Double Q" ribbon :-)

Chicken? No, thanks

2011-11-09T01:13:00.001-05:00

I made chicken soup and set aside some of the chicken for the dogs. But I have such a weird dog! How many dogs do you know that pick out the real meat from their bowl and then set it aside because they DON'T want to eat it?

April Dock Diving photos

2011-11-08T00:24:00.000-05:00

I was looking through some photos I posted to Facebook and saw a few I took at an April dock diving event near Indianapolis. It reminded me that I hadn't gotten the photos taken by a woman there. I contacted the club and found out the photos were posted online! Here are a few of my favorites:

He makes a big splash!

Happy dog

Focus!

Almost got it!

Such effort!

View of the cabin and the dock. The dogs were jumping off at the end with the slide

Close up of the patio area and dog catch area

Hopeful attendees waiting on the raffle drawing- nope, I didn't win

Dam where Dazzle played with a few other dogs before we were advised that the dogs weren't allowed to be off-leash there.

Compeditors waiting their turns

Delinqent posts

2011-11-07T23:57:00.000-05:00

I have been remiss in keeping Dazzle's blog updated. Now that he has a Facebook page (or more like, now that *I* have a facebook page) I have been puting the quick updates there. You can see his page and "like" him as your favorite athelete if you'd like :-)
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Dazzle/168699929853175

I also like to have photos accompany the posts here and I just haven't taken many lately. Enough of the excuses and onto the updates!

Since the previous post, I have competed in a Glock Shooting Sports Federation (GSSF) competition and won the highest scoring female plaque! Also got a gun bag. I felt like I was having an off day so I was really surprized to have won! I guess the other women were having more of an off day than me :-)

We have been taking an Agility class based on the "Alphabet Drills" book. It's giving Dazzle more opportunity to work with the young woman I have running him in Agility. They are doing really well together and Dazzle loves working with her.

Dazzle did great at the packed 1500 vendor gun show we went to near the end of October. His favorite vendors were the Jerky vendor that gave me some samples for him and the taxidermy booth, but that vendor wasn't as keen on Dazzle sampling his wares :-) I didn't let Dazzle reach any of them, but he really wanted to! He stood there and stared at them for nearly a minute. I think he was waiting for something to move :-)

We went to Toledo for a Denise Fenzi seminar and it was just as excellent as the first one I attended. The first one was problem solving for obedience competition and this one was "Building Drive and Motivation" for all dog sports. I LOVE her seminars and her creativity. She is a positive, no compulsion dog trainer and is a really nice and knowledgeable person as well. As before, I took a LOT of notes and Dazzle seemed to enjoy the working spot. Sorry, no photos :-( I didn't think there would be enough light for my little point and shoot to take decent photos.

Halloween was uneventful for us as we don't get any trick or treaters here. So it was just another night here.

On the 2nd of November I went to Posidog in Columbus and had a really great training session. Did some work on Dazzle's release of favorite objects on cue, stand for exam and heeling with attention. Wish Posidog was closer!

On Sunday afternoon, I was building some jumps in the basement for obedience competition practice and Dazzle was running up and down the concrete steps. I didn't think much of it because he does that quite often. But he apparently over did it and bruised his feet. By evening, he didn't want to walk and when he needed to (to go outside to potty) he was trying to walk without his feet touching the ground. It would have been comical if it wasn't so painful to watch.

I spent some time on the floor with him on his back (feet elevated) while I held an ice pack on his feet. I wasn't sure if it would do anything, but by this morning, he was walking MUCH better! I had some errands to run that didn't involve much walking so I took him with me, but it was clear his feet were still sensitive so I skipped a few places and had him wait in the van while I went in to get dinner.

I have been restricting him to the office with me, an x-pen area near the kitchen or on-leash for walks outside to potty so he can only walk. And he is sleeping in his crate again to prevent any running or trotting in the morning excitement (or late night cat chasing).

So far, I think it's helping a great deal and he's dealing with the restrictions surprizingly well. I haven't gotten him any pain meds because his feet don't seem to bother him if he stays off them (my goal) so he is self-regulating. We'll see how long that lasts.

If he's sound (fingers crossed), we have entered a 3-day Agility trial this weekend. I'm hoping his recovery continues to be as fast and dramatic as the difference between last night and today. Why do injuries always happen right before trials?

On Sunday, Dazzle decided his Kong bone would be better as TWO toys.

As you can see, he got about half way through in two other places before making it all the way through this solid rubber bone. I guess there's a reason they are known as Maligators!

So that gets this blog up to date again. I'll post more after the trial that he will hopefully be recovered for (and not too "cranked up" to think from the restricted activity this week). Hopefully I can post about some new titles!

Pumpkin Fest

2011-10-15T21:46:00.000-04:00

Spent a few hours at the big Minges Pumpkin Festival today. Here are a few photos:

That's-a-lotta punkins!

Just one of the many outside "isles" between booths

There are several inside isles too

Dazzle liked the baby Alpacas. They ignored him

Another pose with the pumpkins

Last year at the Halloween party hosted by the training club, some nice photos were taken of the dogs in attendance. Dazzle and I were a K-9 team and Bear had is "Right Wing Attack Dog" shirt on (not for the photo). I finally got these photos last month, so I'm sharing them now that it's the right season :-)

Fall colors

2011-10-08T22:48:00.000-04:00

Spent some time driving around taking photos of the Fall colors. Enjoy!

Not Fall colors, but I like the shot

My new favorite photo of Dazzle

So helpful

2011-10-03T13:17:00.000-04:00

This is Lilly. We watch her when her mom is out of town. This is where she typically spends a lot of time while she's here (on "cat watch").
Of COURSE the cat has her own room! :-)

It's even more exciting when the cat plays along too. The cat is smart enough to stay in her room when Lilly visits :-) I don't think Lilly would hurt her, but so does get pretty intense and I trust Splash's instincts.

As I was laying on my belly taking photos, Dazzle decided I needed help. First, he shoved his head under my chin and did the wiggly body dance in front of me. Then flopped on his side and wagged his tail.

"Hey! I'M supposed to be the subject of all your photos!"

Then he tried to lay ON me and then used his nose to try to "lift" me while making interesting play growl noises. I asked him to lay down next to me which he did, for about 5 seconds... but then he did a complete roll over. It started with his back against my side and ended with his feet doing gentle play shoves on my shoulder and hip.

When all that failed to do anything but generate laughter (and barking from Coyote) he decided that maybe what I needed was a toy, so he brought me one and dropped it on my head. THANKFULLY it was just paper! But when I didn't play with it, he took it back and shredded it... with his body blocking the photo :-)

So helpful... :-)

Broken toe?

2011-09-15T16:39:00.000-04:00

I took Dazzle to the vet for a swelling on his toe. It didn't seem to be bothering him in the least (no licking it or limping) even after hard exercise. But it felt hard so I wanted to get it checked. X-rays revealed a small sliver of bone (or maybe arthritis build up) had broken off. It is floating next to the side of his foot and is surrounded by the swelling. I was really surprized at that since even when the vet was moving it around he didn't really react. Since it doesn't seem to be bothering him, he was ok'd for Agility practice and classes.

The vet said that he will likely develop some calcification or scar tissue around it that will be permament. He did show some other arthritis on the same side of his foot, but in the higher joint. No idea what he's doing that is putting more wear on the inside edge of his foot.

IDPA pistol match

2011-09-11T20:27:00.002-04:00

Ok, so not dog related like my usual posts, but still loads of fun! I attended and participated in my first International Defensive Pistol Association match today in Oxford OH.

It started with check-in and paying $15, then a brief safety talk for anyone new to IDPA (there were several new people today). Then we got assigned to a 15 person group. Some clubs, from what I understand, have new shooters shoot a few targets just to check that the person understands how to handle a gun safely and can follow directions.

As people arrived and got checked in, each group formed and once a group was complete, they were assigned a station to start on.

There were 7 stations, each with a different scenario (video below). Each group rotated counter-clockwise through the stations. Each station has a description describing what needs to be done at the station. You can click on the photos below to enlarge them.

Each person took a turn shooting the station based on the way they felt was the best way to accomplish the goal within the scenario parameters. For example, some people started on the right side, others on the left (when there was an option).

It was a "cold" range, meaning no one had a loaded gun until it was their turn to shoot and the safety officer told them to load. Some stations designated how many rounds could be loaded (to force the shooter to do magazine changes) and others were open to the max number of rounds (10 rounds per magazine). For the folks using revolvers, they were always fully loaded up to 6 rounds. Any gun that can reasonably be used for concealed carry is allowed. The holster also needs to be able to be used for concealed carry and the holster/gun should be concealed at the start of most senarios.

The first station (which I didn't get on video) simulated 2 bad guys breaking into your yard pointing guns at you while you enjoyed your morning coffee. It was started with the shooter seated at a table with the gun on the table. The shooter had to start with a cell phone in the left hand and cup of coffee (empty) in their right hand. At the start sound, those items get dropped and the shooter picks up the gun off the table to engage 4 targets. The first round has the shooter engage 2 of the targets with their strong hand only. The second round is engaging 2 different targets with both hands on the gun.

After all shooters complete each station, the group moves (all together) to the next station in the rotation until all the stations have been completed. There were 4 groups today, so about 60 shooters. I mostly only met the folks in my group, but it was a great group of folks. Very supportive and encouraging of each other. Dan and Cheryl were my mentors and answered all my questions about the rules and proceedures.

The weather cooperated too. 68-78 and sunny. The storm clouds were just starting to move in as we were finishing up (about 1:45pm). I'm definitely hooked! I sure hope the weather is as nice next month!

VIDEO: Several of the IDPA stations
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UacBR0YB7w4

1 Q- no title

2011-08-27T20:01:00.000-04:00

We needed 2 qualifying runs today to get the level 3 UKC Rally title, but only got 1 Q. :-(

The day started way too early at 6:45 so I could arrive in Dayton to register for "day of show" entries. There were 2 trials today and after arriving at 8:30, the first trial didn't start till 10am and level 3 was after all the level 1 and 2 runs. So we didn't get into the ring till nearly 1pm. That was a LOT of waiting around, which Dazzle doesn't really like much. Plus the room the show was in was not air conditioned, so it was quite hot. I chose to crate him in the non a/c area so that when it came time to show, it wouldn't feel even hotter by contrast. In hind sight, I should have just gone for a drive or something, but I didn't know how long the level 1 and 2 were going to take.

Dazzle was clearly tired. After all the walking and crowd navigation at the largest Indiana gun show yesterday, throwing the ball for Dazzle this morning before we left (because I thought he needed it), all the practice time to keep him from getting bored and the late start, he did pretty well considering. He had several moments of brilliance where he looked good, but his "down" seemed to not be working. I had to use multiple cues to get him to lie down. Wer managed a score of 90 and the only Q of the day.

After that, we had to wait for all the 1's and 2's to run again for the second trial. It was, thankfully, in the air conditioned part of the building. But we didn't go in the ring till about 5:30. By that time, Dazzle was really tired and moved about as fast as a newfoundland dog after a full day of swimming.

My throat was sore from all the cheerleading I was doing to try to get him to speed up. He was the total "anti-Malinois" :-) He was often quite distracted and took LOTS of cues to get a response. All he wanted to do this run was lie down, but of course the run had a sit on nearly every station. I chose to use food as the "motivator" just before we went into the ring and I'm sure that played a big part in his total LACK of motivation. I was worried that with as tired as he was, trying to get him excited about a toy and then not letting him have it would not have gone well and a tantrum of leash pulling or barking would have likely ensued :-)

What caused the NQ was the fact that he tried to go THROUGH the panel jump instead of over it. It was only 14 INCHES high, but he hit it so hard it nearly toppled over. I don't know how he managed that and I didn't get video. He didn't deserve to Q on that run anyway. I think it was his worst ever!

Given how tired he was today and the fact that I would have to be there really early again to enter, and it will be in the non a/c part, I'm not going to bother going tomorrow. Oh well, maybe next year.

Sprinkler re-do

2011-08-23T00:51:00.000-04:00

I got video from the start of a sprinkler play session and included a short slo-motion segment at the end :-)

VIDEO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fM_yaRDAUk
Here are some screen shots from the video:

Here's a sequence:

I thought this one was funny!

Awww, poor Dazzle...

Sprinkler!

2011-08-21T12:33:00.002-04:00

I got Dazzle a sprinkler to play with. I was afraid he would hurt his teeth on it (or carry it into the dog door) but so far it's been working out really well. He only pulled it out of the ground once. I'm not too sure how much water he is ingesting though.

I was having a really hard time with the damn digital delay on my camera. I could have SUCH good photos if it would actually TAKE the photo when I press the button (such an antiquated concept apparently). He was leaping really high through the water, but all I was getting was after the landing :-(.

So I switched to video, but by that time he was getting tired. I'll try video again when he's fresh, but I'm uploading what I took to youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R29ps8k65Qs

Enjoy the very few photos that turned out ok:

Here are the types of photos I was trying to get (captured from video)

Indiana State Fair

2011-08-16T19:36:00.000-04:00

I took advantage of the $2 Tuesday and went to the Indiana State Fair. It only cost $2 (instead of $8) to get in and parking is free if you arrive early enough to park on the Fairgrounds property, which I did.

My first stop was the scooter rental and I was so glad they still had some left when I arrived because there is NO way I could have seen any where near as much as I did without it. It was 85 degrees and sunny, so I did my best to keep Dazzle off the hot blacktop which in most places was pretty easy.

We spent 4 hours touring the Fairgrounds and I think we saw almost everything! On foot, even for an able bodied person, it would have taken way longer that that! Here's the map of the grounds (click to enlarge):

I was really impressed by how accessible everything was. Nice wide isles, ramps and wide doors. Only draw back was no HC remote doors, but there were plenty of people nice enough to hold doors open for me.

Dazzle did really great with all the noises, including loud carnival rides and this chainsaw demo.

He was facinated by the critters, but I didn't let him get too close. We avoided the rabbit/chicken barns :-)

" LOOK OUT! There's a huge otter behind you!"

Dazzle was freaked out by the huge fish in these tanks :-) He wouldn't get between the scooter and the fish! He wanted to be sure to keep me and the scooter between him and the alien beings.

I think these goats are really beautiful. No idea what kind they are.

One of the goats was just as curious about Dazzle as Daz was about him

Goat calming signal? :-) (He started to scratch)

Again with the alien fish! He really wanted to look, but was ready to bolt away if the aliens attacked :-)

Getting braver...

The longer he watched, the more relaxed he got that they weren't going to jump out and swallow him

They often swam with their top fins out of the water and Dazzle was both facinated and freaked out at the same time by that.

They seemed as curious about the people as the people were about them. I think they were called paddle fish and they had a flat "bill" with no teeth.

This statue was created for the fair (a couple dancing). I used a head collar on Dazzle so he wouldn't try to pull the scooter like he does with a wheelchair.

These acrobats were AMAZING!

Balancing on one hand, on top of a stack of chairs, that are balanced on 4 bottles!

It's hard to see the bottles at the bottom. Click on the photo to make it larger.

Art out of cans. VERY creative pieces! The "smoke" is bags of marshmallows :-)

"Souper Bowl" The ball is made of sardine tins

Another view. You can see part of the "combine" to the right. I tried to get a photo of it, but it came out really burry for some reason.

Mega pumpkin carving! Yes, that says it's a 444 lb pumpkin! The winner of the biggest pumpkin was over 800 lbs! I didn't get a photo of it though (it wasn't carved and was actually rather ugly :-).

LOTS and LOTS of Legos!! I was in awe of these! Sorry for so many photos :-) This first one is Lucas Oil stadium. The "Big Screen" in the corner was actually a working TV screen!! Click to enlarge. Sorry it's a bit blurry, the lighting was poor.

Info about the lego stadium

The back of the stadium (no idea why this photo refuses to center):

This one is a Nascar track:

Some close ups:

This was a stunning set-up from the ocean to the mountains. It said it took 8 hours to reconstruct it in place. I don't recall how long it said it took to build it originally but it was a pretty long time!

Some close ups:

LOVE the sun bathers :-)

River valley (not sure why Shamu is trying to jump the waterfall :-):

Downtown:

Mountain:

Love the landscaping:

Notice the Starbucks cart near the top of the mountain :-)

Along the front of each display, there were pages saying "can you find..." with multiple things listed. People of all ages were having fun locating the various things. Can you find Darth Vader? :-)

Mountain Spring (Can you find the moonshine still?)

A permanent fixture at the fairgrounds is the Hook's Historical Drug Store. A VERY cool place! It serves old time fountain drinks and sodas.

Medicine prep area at the back of the store:

This place reminds me of the "I spy" books :-)

Over all a VERY enjoyable day to take my mind off our recent loss.

Agility Pro photos

2011-08-15T12:52:00.001-04:00

The following photos were taken at the Queen City Agility Trial on Aug 6 & 7th by www.JimPoor.com. I got the "raw" photos on a disk, so I did some cropping, lightening and other minor editing.

You can click on any photo to enlarge it.

RIP Buster 3-4-97 to 8-13-11

2011-08-14T19:26:00.000-04:00

It is with a hole in my heart that I report that Buster took his last breath next to me and my husband on his favorite dog bed in our house. He went quickly and peacefully, on his own terms a short time ago. There was more than one time in the past couple weeks that I thought he was near the end, but then he would bounce right back and be like nothing had happened. He was a strong spirit right to the end. I wrote the following memorial when I knew his end was near. Thank-you Allison for helping us know Buster's wishes. It really helped us put our minds at ease and I think you were 100% right. He was 14 and a half years old.

14 years ago, Buster came into our lives through a twist of fate that said in no uncertain terms he was meant to be ours. It was back when I only had one dog, my Rottweiler, and my husband was not yet my spouse but was spending more time at my house than his own. He was raised on a farm with only outside "farm dogs" and didn't know how wonderful, loving and personable a dog could be until he met Hunter and spent some time with him. He decided he wanted a dog that loved him as much as Hunter clearly loved me. And although we were reading about various breeds, we both knew he needed more education about dogs and training before we started looking for another dog. He did decide, after much research, that he wanted a Cattle Dog, that he wanted it to be a blue male and that he was going to name him Buster.

Shortly after he declared that, I was on duty as a police officer and got a call for a loose dog on a major road huddled next to the median. I responded and found a scared dog, I think it was a labrador, that was clearly someone's pet but had no tags. I called SPCA to respond, but they had a 3 hour estimated arrival and I already had the dog in the back of my patrol car. So I got permission from my supervisor to go across town to drop the dog off at the shelter where I had never been before.

While I'm in line waiting to turn over the dog, a couple walked in with a (you guessed it) male, blue cattle dog. I didn't think much about it and figured they were probably getting him neutered or something. But I couldn't resist asking. I was told they had a baby on the way and already had 2 small dogs and this one just wasn't working out. I asked what his name was and they said Buster. I knew he was meant to be ours. He was flattening himself to the floor and trying to be invisible, and looked catatonic, but I thought it might just be because he was in the lobby of the SPCA and likely knew his only family was about to give him up. We agreed to meet the next day at a park on the other side of town where it turned out they also lived. I wanted to be sure Hunter would get along with Buster and wanted to see what he was like away from the SPCA environment.

They arrived the next day and had to coax him out of the car where he promptly flattened himself to the ground. Hunter walked up, gave him a sniff and walked off to sniff elsewhere. Buster didn't move. I thought I knew what we were in for and knew this dog would not be my husband's because it was going to take a boat load of training to get him out of his shell. We gave the people a dollar and had them sign him over to us just to make it official and we took him home. I have no doubt he would have been immediately put to sleep if he had stayed at the shelter. They told us they got him at 8 weeks old at a pet store and that they put him in their fenced back yard on a quiet cul-de-sac street and he never left the yard. He was now 8 months old and his entire known world consisted of that one back yard. He never learned that stuff outside that yard wasn't going to eat him or that sometimes thing change suddenly in the environment and it wasn't a signal for the end of the universe or that people and dogs he didn't know weren't going to kill him. Our saving grace, if you can call it that, for our newby training skills was that he never tried to bite. When he got overwhelmed, he laid down and went catatonic.

For the first 6 months, if we got up off the couch, or walked in the room he was in, he bolted out the back dog door. He was more comfortable outside, but it didn't take as long as I expected to get him indoors for the most part. The dog door helped and so did Hunter who Buster seemed to feel safe with (surprizing because he had only known small lap dogs, but Hunter was a gentle soul and had a way with people and dogs that were fearful dispite his 120 lb size). I think it was a year before Buster crawled up on the couch for attention, but for years he still bolted off if he thought we might stand up.

I recall early on thinking I would take him for a walk, but as soon as he stepped out onto the front porch, into the new and unknown world, he was back to a catatonic puddle on the floor. So we spent months just sitting on the porch watching the world go by until he was able to take treats and deal with it all. Eventually we were able to leave the porch and take a walk around the block. During that time, I found that he was much more relaxed in the woods, so that's where he got most of his exerise when we weren't playing in the now familiar back yard.

Buster was the reason I found clicker training, because up to the time he entered our lives, I was not using completely kind methods. But it was pretty clear that since an unhappy glance in his direction caused him to turn into a puddle that the training I had used with Hunter wasn't going to work on him. So I attended a seminar in Chicago presented by two guys from the Shedd Aquarium that opened my eyes to a whole new world of training. It was also where I met Beth Duman and her Dog Scout Anja and found out about DSA. But I was still unclear on much of positive training and it wasn't till I attended Dog Scout camp in 2000 with Hunter that I really experienced the power of positive training and started understanding how it could be applied.

After that, my skills with Buster grew rapidly, I started working at a Dog Daycare and learning loads about canine body language and Buster started making more progress with his socialization (but he wasn't ever able to attend the daycare where I worked). He did get to attend Dog Scout camp twice and on his second visit, he was relaxed enough to be able to play some fetch with a frisbee (his favorite toy) and to paint a lovely painting I still have framed. We went on many long walks in the woods together, Buster always off leash because he was more relaxed that way. If we met anyone on the trail, Buster would trot into the woods, way out around the other person, but always came right back to my side. I found he loved water activities and often took him to a park near our house where he could fetch his frisbee in the shallow reflecting pool, which he would do all day long if I let him. We also went on several kayak trips together and as long as he was able to go for the occasional swim, he enjoyed sunning himself in the kayak and watching the world float by. And once we moved and got a big back yard, countless hours were spent throwing the frisbee for him when we weren't hiking a trail.

When he was 12, he played with a dog he didn't know for the first time at a troop party at our house. I got it on video and nearly cried. During previous parties, he had started by staying in the bedroom and only darting out to pee whenever other people were visiting. But each party he got more and more bold. He started peeking out and watching, then coming out into the living room as long as no one looked at him. Then he started to make short trips outside where everyone was instructed to feed him. He was pretty food motivated, so that helped a great deal. But when he actually engaged in play with a corgi, that was a wonderful memory I'll cherish.

I only wish other people could have seen what he was like when it was just us at home. He was playful and had a wicked sense of humor. He was also masochistic. He would torment Coyote or Dazzle until they bit him and especially when coyote would grab him by the muzzle and hold him, making indentations into the skin, Buster would stand there and wag his tail with a gleam in his eye. Allison did a reading of him a few years ago and agreed that if he were a person, he'd be wearing leather and chains and begging to be whipped. He was also quite cunning. He learned that when Coyote had a bone he wanted, if Buster barked at the front window, Coyote would run over to help him bark and Buster would saunter back and get the bone! That worked until Coyote figured out what Buster was doing and would carry the bone with him and bark with it in his mouth. Buster didn't try that ploy again after that. But he did do other similar things. He loved to play, wrestle and fetch and often walked around with a toy in his mouth. As he got older, he had a knack for laying in a traffic pattern so Coyote, who is nearly blind, would accidently step on him so Buster could "correct" Coyote. But he was never rough about it, I think it was a game he played, exercising what control he still could. He was truely a character to the end.

He taught me SO much about canine behavior, body language and positive training I could never thank him enough. As it has been said, it's not the easy dogs that make you a good trainer, it's the ones with issues. And Buster brought that in spades. But I wouldn't ever trade him for an easy dog. I know I wouldn't be where I am today without him and I wouldn't have been able to help the countless people and dogs I have helped because of what he taught me or forced me to learn. So thank-you Buster from the bottom of my heart. You will be missed deeply and a piece of my heart went with you. I'll remember you fondly. Rest in peace my dear friend and teacher.

This weekends Agility Trial

2011-08-07T23:16:00.006-04:00

I took Dazzle to his first Agility show this weekend (since his NQ debut run last year at Malinois national). I ordered several really nice photos (including the one above) from the pro photographer, so I'll add those as soon as I get them. The one above is a proof.

As a preface, I have not been exercising Dazzle for the past week because the previous week he started limping a bit. I thought he had bruised the pads of one foot, but since trying to keep him from running around is like trying to stop the earth from turning, it took awhile for the limp to go away. He hadn't been limping much by the time he got his chiropractic exam, but the vet said one of his toes looked swollen (but wasn't sure of the cause). Said it wasn't broken, so that was good news! He prescribed some stuff to put on it and it seems to have worked! I was afraid to exercise Dazzle before the show for fear he would start limping again, so he went into this weekend with about a week of pent up energy :-) Sorry Sarah!

Saturday morning started at 9:30 for us with a F.A.S.T. run. This is a "points" game with each obstacle worth a certain number of points. It also includes a "challenge" that must be completed correctly to Qualify. Goal is 50 points in a set amount of time. For each second over time, you lose one of the points you earned with the obstacles.

Dazzle was CRANKED!! Sarah really had her hands full trying to contain him and get him around the obstacles. Thankfully there is no set course. Each handler gets to pick which obstacles they want to use and in what order and if a dog makes a mistake like a dropped bar, it simply doesn't get the points on that obstacle. But of course Dazzle decided to knock down the single bar jump that was worth NINE points! Couldn't have been a ONE point jump, Noooo. In his excitement, he also jumped off the A-frame missing the down contact, so those points didn't count either. :-( Anyway, Sarah managed to get him exactly 50 points, but they were on the other side of the ring when the buzzer sounded. So there was a 7 second penalty as she tried to get Dazzle back to and over the last jump (which he ran past on the first attempt). So he didn't get enough points to qualify, but he had a LOT of fun!! I had to stay put by the entry gate so Dazzle could see me, so the video is not from a good angle.

FAST run video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQJZFfjfbqg

Then, because of the way the classes were arranged, the next Novice class wasn't until after 4:30 pm! So we did a lot of sitting around and watching and I helped when needed. Thankfully, we were in the new building that had great A/C, so it was a comfortable wait. I had brought in Dazzle's big crate, so he was able to stretch out and relax.

Video of the facility:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjWIJr-oqaI

The second class was "Jumpers with Weaves". As it sounds, it is only jumps, weaves and tunnels. A VERY fast course because there are no obstacles where the dog stops or pauses. Because of the long wait, I spent some time getting Dazzle more "up" thinking he would do better. He was plenty pumped up and ended up knocking bars on 2 jumps trying to go too fast. In this class, dropped jump bars mean NQ.

VIDEO: JWW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PGbSic6bn8

His third class was the last one of the day and started after 7pm. The start was a total disaster! Dazzle grabbed the leash as Sarah was trying to get it off him and yanked on it. She tried to hold on and his collar slipped off (since I switch to a buckle, instead of his martingale) and he proceeded to jump the first jump (the tire) carrying his leash proudly!

He did come back when Sarah called and some how managed to drop the leash. But Sarah didn't want to take a chance on him going for it again, so she tried to get him immediately started on the course. This time he ran PAST the tire. He did finally get on course, but ended up dropping another bar and was even more wild and out of control than on the 1st run of the day! I didn't bother getting video of this disaster :-)

I helped clean up, and then we headed home. Got to bed late and about 4am, the thunder started. Dazzle jumped on my head and I had no choice but to get up, put on his thunder shirt and sit up with him till the storm passed. After the worst of it was by us, I did manage to get another hour of sleep, but was NOT ready to get up when the alarm sounded! I ended up packing my cot and my pillow because I knew there was no way I was getting through the 6 hours between classes without sleep!

The show was in the same order as yesterday, starting with FAST. I changed my "warm up" tactics to doing my best to keep him calm. I had him do a little bit of leg weaves and spins and did some hands-on stretches, a few warm-up jumps and then calmed him till it was his turn. I also switched to a very short traffic lead.

I sprayed this with bitter apple just in case Dazzle got it. But Sarah was able to lay this along his collar and Dazzle couldn't get it. She lead him in by the collar and had him sit/stay before she took off the leash and quickly got it out of his reach. I didn't really care if he Q'd, we were only using this to try out the new entry plan (which worked great!) and to work on his contacts and getting him to slow down a bit. It all went beautifully!! He not only Q'd, he got 2nd place! What a difference!

VIDEO: FAST

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqK59mnDVJc

Not sure if the full day yesterday and lack of sleep overnight had anything to do with it though :-) At least for future shows I'll be able to give him his usual workout on the days prior.

Then we had the 6 hour wait and I got a 3 hour nap on my cot :-) After my nap, Dazzle thought the cot was THE place to be!

The second run of the day was a not so easy Jumpers course. There were a few places where if he got up too much speed, he would take the wrong obstacle instead of the 90* left turns. We repeated the calm warm up and entry and Sarah worked on keeping him steady and not letting him get too far ahead. He nailed the first left turn perfectly, but on the way back, he missed the turn to the next jump he was supposed to take when Sarah tried a rear cross. No prob, he didn't take the wrong jump, so that's only points off and it actually set him up to do a better entry to the correct jump. It was a really pretty run and he was clearly thinking. We haven't practiced rear crosses much, so that's what threw him a bit. But again he qualified and even ended up with 2nd place!

I had another person do the video from a better angle :-)

Video: JWW

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XbuCMUG8Sc

While we were waiting for Open level Jumpers to finish, a big, loud storm blew through and Dazzle was in his thundershirt till just before his run. Thankfully for us, the storm was over just as quickly as it started and by the time of Dazzle's run, he was fairly calmed down. I didn't know how the adrenalin dump would affect his run, but apparently not too badly :-) He had a perfect run and got first place!! The course time was 64 seconds and he did it in 36:68 (and that was with Sarah trying to steady his speed!) Because he got 2 Q's (3 actually) in one day, he got an extra "double Q" ribbon.

Video: Standard Course

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

I am SO proud of him!! And so glad Sarah was willing and able to stick around for the Novice runs that made her day much longer than it otherwise would have been. I'm really sorry her dog didn't double Q today for her MACH, but I'm certain she will get that at the next trial!! Wish I could be there to see it.

I'm also glad that we figured out what Dazzle needed to run at the show the way he does in practice! Now I'm looking forward to more shows :-) After Saturday, I wasn't so sure we would bother! LOL

2011-08-01T21:11:00.001-04:00

My friend Beth from MI was in town to do a book signing and to appear on Fox 19 to talk about her new book:

http://www.bethduman.com/CharlieDarwin.html

It is about her dog (abandoned, then placed in the shelter, adopted out, but returned for several behavioral issues). She named him Charlie Darwin and in the 18 mo. she has had him, he has made an amazing evolution into a well mannered and well trained dog.

The book is titled "The Evolution of Charlie Darwin". It's a fantastic book, very easy to read and packed with excellent information anyone can use to train their dog!

The book signing was at Jacks Pets in Harrison on Sunday where Charlie impressed the customers with his skateboarding abilities

He also used an ink pad to "pawtograph" books that were sold.

The next day, we got up early and accompanied her to the Fox 19 TV studio where she talked to Rob Williams about the book and showed off Charlie's new skills.

Dazzle was patient about waiting off camera for Charlie to finish.

Charlie rides his skateboard

And shows how easy it is to teach a dog to go to a mat and settle

After we left the station, we went on a "sightseeing" tour of the area. I showed her some of the unique architecture of downtown, then we headed west. We stopped at the oldest church building still on it's original location. It's a very cool little piece of history!

A better view of the church. The squares under the second floor windows were gun ports to defend the church from Indians and any other attackers. The headstones in the cemetry are so old, they are disintegrated to tiny lumps of stone or have the text completely worn off.

This little gem is open to the public, so we went in to see the wonderful preservation work done by the historical society. It has a charcol pit in the center for cold weather services that are no longer held, a large balcony and wonderful acoustics from the pulpit on the right side of the photo.

From there we continued west and checked out the locks on the canal. You can click on these photos to enlarge them and read the signs.

The lock is on the right, with the spillway on the left. Wouldn't want to be the barge that got THAT confused!

The down stream side of the lock (spillway on the right)

Then we visited Metamora, an artisan community along the canal. Because Monday and Tuesday are the merchant's "weekend" days off, the place was like a ghost town, but we did still manage to find one shop open to get some yummy ice cream. :-)

Metemora is the location of perhaps the only remaining "aquaduct". The sign was on the other side of the canal, so I didn't get a shot of that. But an Aquaduct is a bridge that carries one waterway over another. In this case, the bridge carries the canal water over the river. The river flows left to right under the canal in the photo below.

The dogs check out the view of the river, which due to the lack of rain, was barely there. Just to the right of Dazzle's head, you can see some of the water that is leaking through the canal bridge and being caught and ejected out the side. In the winter, this freezes into a giant icicle.

Below is the foot bridge next to the canal way. The canal water is to the left in this photo and the river bed below is visible through the slats of the foot bridge (when walking across). The dogs had no problem walking over it though. The size of the handhewn logs used to make this bridge is really impressive!

Another view of the canal bridge with the footbridge next to it.

The canal boat that gives rides (when the town is open :-)

About the canal boat (click on photo to enlarge)

Then we went to Brookville Lake. Here's Beth on the dam where I go for bike rides with Dazzle pulling the bike (when it's cooler). It's a half mile to the other end of the dam.

About the dam:

Dazzle and Charlie enjoying the view of the lake and all the scents being carried to them on the breeze.

Another view of the dam

Beth playing tourist :-)

Our last stop was Franklin Co. park. The views from the top are great, but today was really hazy

The drive to the top of the park is a narrow, winding, one-way, single lane road that is quite steep in places. This photo just doesn't do it justice. Beth got in the photo to show scale

It was a great visit and I hope she and Charlie will return soon and be able to stay a bit longer!

Dazzle's B-day tribute, a bit early

2011-07-24T20:40:00.000-04:00

I just created this little video of photos/video clips from the past year and I love it so much I couldn't wait to post it :-) So even though Dazle's birthday is on the 31st, here is the tribute to a wonderful year gone by (age 2 to age 3). Here's hoping for MANY more years together!

VIDEO: Tribute 2 years old to 3 years old
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDpDZoj6lGg

Forgot some photos

2011-07-18T14:35:00.000-04:00

Here are a few more photos that I took at camp.

On the last day of camp, Dazzle got a massage. He REALLY enjoyed the rub down and went to sleep while she was working on him.

I laughed when I came into the room and saw that he had very carefully used the floor rug to "hide" his food from the other dogs at camp. I think he did a pretty good job!

Here is what he had covered. He came over to check to see if it was still there after I uncovered it

Wet and happy dog

Portrait- taken during the Directional Control practice

Another portrait, taken on the last day

Camp 2 was lots of fun!

2011-07-18T01:31:00.001-04:00

Dazzle had a great time at Dog Scout camp even though I was working.

He didn't seem to mind the sand one bit!

I tried not to throw the ball into the sand, but it's kind of hard to avoid :-)

We participated in the mini "greeting" hike on day 1

But most of his exercise was from fetching his ball out of the lake, over and over and over again :-)

I relaxed in a chair in the shade while he got his workout in the water to keep him cool. God bless whomever invented the Chuck-it toy!

Water entry:

We did find some bits of free time to work on badges. He got the Frisbee badge, Naked Dog Obedience badge (multiple behaviors performed in a row at a distance from the handler) and also the Directional Control Level 2 badge shown below.

VIDEO: Directional Control 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y5rMvXhAi8

I celebrated my birthday at camp- A great place to be! Lonnie makes sure the German Chocolate Cake is served on my birthday :-)

Dazzle got to run the Agilure course again just for fun and once again had the fastest time of all the (16) dogs (under 8 sec.) and was 1/2 a sec. faster than Cadence the BC that had the next fastest time.

He also played the "Devil Duck" game.

The idea is for the dog to get the most ducks out of the hoop and close enough to the handler for the handler to get the duck (within the time limit). But if they pick up one of the red ducks, the time stops. If they select the black duck, it counts as 2 ducks. Staff had 2 red ducks in the ring and the campers only had 1. There was a tie for second place and in the "duck-off" Dazzle got 9 ducks! So he got second place in the staff category.

One of the crafts was making "Survival Bracelets" out of paracord. Not sure who's bracelet this was, but mine is just solid black. I made a solid blue one at camp 1.

This baby blue tailed skink had hitchhiked a ride on Ann's back. When I got him off of her, he spent several minutes riding around in my hands being shown to anyone that wanted to see it. Then I let it go in the woods.

Dazzle also got a bit further in his Treibball practice during the Treibball class

He was able to nose the ball all the way to me from about 15' away

Charlie Duman, a dog belonging to a staff member, started working on Treibball during the June camp and then was the very first dog to earn the level 1 badge at this camp, just 1 month later!

The full moon was amazingly bright (enough to cast shadows)! The number of stars visible at camp in the north woods of Michigan is just mind-boggling. This is a photo of the moon!

As usual, it was "the best camp ever!" Great people, great dogs, wonderful and supportive atmosphere, several life changing "Ah ha!" moments for many of the attendees and lots of new friends made.

After camp, we had another IMPROV trial. Dazzle got 3rd place, only 1 point shy of the 2nd place dog! I was very proud of his performance, but surprized he had trouble with the retrieve objects. No photos or video this time.

Laughing dog

2011-07-09T13:22:00.000-04:00

AAAAH HA HA HA HA HA HA!

Dazzle was panting hard after a play session in the heat and I was playing around with camera angles. For the first photo above, I had him looking at my hand that was held high. I expected to get some good photos of "all teeth", but had to laugh when I saw that they ended up looking like he was laughing.

Trip to MI for Dog Scout camp

2011-06-28T00:42:00.001-04:00

On Sunday the 19th Dazzle and I headed north to go to Dog Scout camp. Along the way, we stopped to meet one of his sisters and her owner whom I have been communicating with via facebook. We also stopped at a place called Cops and Doughnuts that I first saw on her facebook post.

When I first arrived at Cee's house, we took Jami and Dazzle for a "meet and greet" walk on her property. This gave the dogs a chance to observe and get the scent of each other before they got close enough to greet. They were doing well, so I let Dazzle off leash on the trail.

He went toward the horses, but was easily called away back to the trail. The chicken barn didn't go as well. He chased the chickens around the barn and came out with one in his mouth. I got him to drop it and it ran off, so hopefully that's a good sign. Cee assured me that it was no problem and that she didn't care if it died because the chickens were overtaking the place, but I felt really bad! Sorry again Cee if you read this!

After the walk, we ended up at the house where Dazzle met Sabin, their GSD.

All the dogs ran around the yard for awhile and had fun

When they all started seeking shade, we moved indoors.

Jami tries to get Dazzle to play

They had fun trotting around the center wall like they were on a track- Living room to dining room to kitchen to living room and repeat.

Dazzle spent a lot of time watching the birds in the yard and Jami spent the same time watching Dazzle so she was ready as soon as he moved. When she wasn't watching him, she was snuggling into my lap :-)

I was on a tight schedule since I had to be at camp for the staff meeting, so my visit was shorter than I would have liked, but hopefully we can get together again soon (away from the chickens)! Thank-you to Cee and her husband for their hospitality and a great visit.

Our next stop on our way north was the cops and doughnuts shop. A nice place with killer cinnamon rolls! I arrived around 4pm, so there was slim pickin's on the doughnuts, but I really enjoyed the cinnamon rolls.

While I was waiting to order, I decided to use the facilities and was very glad I did! The bathroom is a hoot. It's decorated like it's a jail cell, complete with a mini bunk. I spent more time than planned reading the notes on the walls. I left our mark as well.

Some of the graffitti and "cell bars"

In the store, they have a "mug shot wall". Couldn't resist getting Dazzle's photo in front of it. Charged with molesting chickens and found guilty. They also have some really funny T-shirts and coffee mugs.

Day one of camp (monday) we participated in the "greeting" hike where half the campers go one way and the other half go the opposite way on a short trail around the pond. This allows the dogs to see and get the scent of each other, just like we did with Dazzle and Jami on Sunday.

These are the only "hiking" photos I usually get since I can't do the regular hikes without the golf cart.

Chatting with Julie after the walk

I taught several sessions during the camp. Here I'm demonstrating "refocus after thresholds" and going through doors politely.

I also did several sessions on Treibball. Here Dazzle is demonstrationg "go to spot"

Then I added a basket where the ball would usually be

Dazzle lined up properly behind the basket (easier to learn proper position without the tempting ball involved :-)

Demo of dumbbell retrieve training steps (I have the dumbbell between my knees so my hands are free to click and reward and so the dog has no choice but to grab it in the center like he's supposed to).

But between teaching and other administrative duties, we had time to participate a bit and earn some badges.

Dazzle REALLY enjoyed the "Agilure" course and had the fastest time of 8.4 seconds!
Dragging me to the start

So fast he's a blur!

Through the last obstacle

Intense focus on the lure, willing it to move again!

VIDEO: Agilure Run
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ft7QnXKskvg

He also got the Puissance Jumping badge. For this, he had to clear a jump that is twice his height. So since he's 24" at the shoulder, he had to clear a 4' jump. I didn't expect this to be any problem for him since he jumps like a deer, but he really struggled with the last 4" (final bar). So I had help in setting the jump raised at intervals of 1" higher by having others hold a bar in place (it would fall easily if he hit it, meaning no reward was delivered).

He's fast, so the photos are a challenge!

VIDEO: Puissance Jumping (regular and slo-mo)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot4-ShS89aI

Another badge I didn't know would be offered (or that I would end up doing the testing for :-) was the Triathadog. This is a combo of Agility, Barrel Racing and Obedience all done back to back.
The first event is a 10 obstacle Agility course

Followed immediately by a 3-barrel barrel racing pattern performed by the dog while the handler stays 15' from the barrels. The Agility and barrels are timed.

Time stops when the dog gets back to the center of the pattern and then the obedience begins (AKC obed. rules/deductions apply). First, the dog has to stay while the handler walks around the outside of all the barrels and returns to heel position. Followed by a recall to front with a finish to heel position.

Last is a 100' heel pattern. Dazzle took 1st place with the highest score in the impromtu competition. Lonnie tested him since I can't test myself for a badge :-)

But this camp wasn't all fun and games for him. We had thunderstorms almost every day. We didn't let it dampen the fun, but it did stress him out a bit. Several dogs were wearing their thundershirts.

During one storm, a tree came down across the road near the camp driveway and took out a power line. We were without power for several hours and dinner was touch and go till we found we could exit camp to pick it up by going the back way out of camp and avoid the downed tree/power line. The crews came out quickly to fix it, but power wasn't restored for awhile.

Power was not restored by dinner time, so we ate by candle light and lantern. Unfortunately, the loss of power drained the batteries in the smoke detectors so those went off and took awhile to get silenced. But everyone continued to have a good time in spite of the minor adversity.

During one downpour, most of the lawn was underwater because of how fast and heavy the rain was coming down. Thankfully it's all sandy soil and drained fairly quickly. Only a couple activities had to be cancelled or shuffled because of the weather.

Dazzle didn't spend much time in the play yard this camp because I was usually busy working, but he did still get in some after hours play sessions. Here he's playing with Zatoitchi, a blind Akita pup (though Dazzle's eyes look pretty freaky in this photo too!)

He was quite the tease with his toy, but the pup did a great job of following the movements with his hearing

After camp, the very first IMPROV competition was held. This is a new dog sport that challenges dogs and their people to strategize and think outside the box. I don't yet have the photos from the competition, but I do have video posted below. Lonnie created IMPROV several years ago, but it has only recently become an official DSA sanctioned competition option. Her dogs had the highest scores, but because she was the judge, she couldn't accept the placement awards. This meant that even though Dazzle had the third highest score by a small margin (behind Lonnie's dogs) he got awarded 1st place! So he has the distinction of getting 1st place in the very first DSA IMPROV trial. Very cool!

VIDEO: IMPROV
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyMcTpX9qkg

On Sunday, after I was all packed up and about to leave camp, a group of us went to visit Lonnie's horses. Dazzle went along because he has always been very good around horses in the past.

He decided to use their water trough to cool off. It needed to be cleaned anyway :-)

Dazzle sticking his tongue out at Drako

Melissa found just the right spot on Drako's belly (Happy horse face)

Rollin' in the hay

Dazzle joins Kozi for a roll in the hay

He had no fear of the horses. Probably not a good thing because shortly after the photo below he decided to try to get Drako to play. Except his idea of play was "I'll chase, you run" like he did when we tried herding and he thought it was great fun to go "bowling for sheep" and see how many he could get airborn at once. Not a good thing with a 1,000 lb. horse. He did end up getting kicked in the head, but didn't seem to notice and didn't seem a bit hurt. Scared the crap out of me though and I was so mad at him I could barely contain myself. I didn't forgive him till several hours into the trip home when I finally calmed down a bit.

Not the best ending for camp, but we all survived and hopefully Lonnie's horses don't act differently around dogs now. I spent last night and today getting caught up on emails and facebook, edited and uploaded the videos above and now I can cross off "update blog" from my to do list :-)

Denise Fenzi and trip to KY

2011-06-16T15:12:00.000-04:00

Last weekend Dazzle and I were joined by Candy and Ted for a trip to Chicago to see Denise Fenzi. Denise is a brilliant and creative trainer that used only positive reward to get the highest obedience title on her dog. I have been to a LOT of seminars, but I have never ended up with 10 pages of notes (after typing them out)! TONS of helpful hints, tips and "secrets" I can use with Dazzle.

I didn't take many photos, so the facility photos and dinner group photo will have to do.

K-9 Play Place in Mundelein IL where the seminar took place:

Dinner with some of the attendees and Denise:

I do have to say I was highly impressed by the La Quinta we stayed at in Banockburn. HUGE room for a very reasonable price:

Even had a fridge and microwave!

On Tuesday I was playing around, trying to get the "evil face" Dazzle makes to the hose just before he gets squirted, but it ended up looking like a smile :-) I think it's the big tongue.

Yesterday I spent the day at the KY horse park with a friend I grew up with and haven't seen for 3 years. I love the way things pick up as though we haven't been separated by half of the U.S.. We had loads of laughs (often at the things her child said) and I didn't want to leave. We kept finding things to do so my departure could be delayed :-)

I had the chance to see her and her husband work their horses, then we wandered around the horse park, doing more walking than I should have (but then I've never been good at self-moderation when it comes to things I want to do) :-)

After that we went out to dinner at a nice restaurant. We ate at at table right next to the pond on their outside deck. The ducks right below us were driving Dazzle crazy! He REALLY wanted to go swimming but he was good.

Then we wandered around the book store we had to go through to get to the restaurant. Not wanting the fun to end, we went to Olive Garden for dessert and I think Ryan has a new favorite dessert :-) Hopefully he was able to sleep after all the Black Tie Mousse cake he ate! We finished up back at the barn, after dark, where I finally remembered to get my camera out and get a few photos.

Gayle and her beautiful horse Dubi

Joshua, John, Ryan and their new best friend

Ryan and his new friend. I think Dazzle has a new fan that will be reading his blog :-)

Hopefully it won't be another 3 years before we get to see each other again!

95 degree day = water fun

2011-06-08T15:15:00.000-04:00

It is too warm to do more than very short training sessions outside, so I took Dazzle to the lake today to practice his dock diving. An officer stopped by and recognized his breed right away. He stayed to watch and my husband and I enjoyed talking with him for a bit. I lost count of how many jumps Dazzle did, but he wasn't ready to leave when I was. :-)

My husband took only the following 7 photos, one at a time (not in the order below) but they happened to work out into a progression series. It only took him 6 shots to work out the timing with the digital delay and to get photo #4 below. Well done!

After the photo shoot, I realized I hadn't extended the rod on the toy holder and he was jumping much better after I did that, but by that time my husband was wandering around the boat launch area a bit with his Beagle who also went for a swim.

End of May was BUSY!!

2011-06-03T23:17:00.001-04:00

It started on the 18th with dock diving practice at Crosscreek farm. Dazzle enjoyed jumping multiple times (no photos of that though) and then he enjoyed racing around with some of the other dogs there.

14 hours later, we loaded up for a 7 hour drive to Dog Scout camp for the Leadership Retreat. Dazzle was a busy boy there as well.

He spent a bit of time laying by the fire when I asked him to (but not much before he was wanting to play again)

Comparison between a standard marshmellow and the super jumbo sized ones they are now selling. The Jumbo ones are GREAT for S'mores because only the tasty, toasted outside crust remains when you pinch it between the graham crackers and pull the middle out (to be toasted for another one.)

While the humans were picking up stray sticks and branches to help clean-up camp, Dazzle found the stick he wanted and trotted off to chew on it.

Charlie checks on Dazzle's progress with their self-initiated digging contest.

Charlie concedes and goes to play while Dazzle continues to excavate and fill in Charlie's hole :-)

Lots of time was spent during breaks in the play yard (between the lecture sessions of the retreat) to let the dogs do some running before they needed to be still for another hour during the presentations.

Why you don't hold a ball out with a Malinois around- Such a bad, bad dog! But he WAS nice enough to leave her hand unscathed and only bop the ball loose so he could grab it.

Dazzle takes a break and let's Charlie do some work

One of my new favorite photos!

Unique Dock Diving view

Failed attempt to catch the above photo :-) Darn digital delay!

Dazzle found several friends willing to tug with him at camp. This person was determined to win, but in the end Dazzle prevailed.

He is VERY good at playing "tease the human"- he only holds a little bit of the ball and lets most of it stick out, making the human think they might be able to get it from him. Silly humans!

Cooling off in the pond

On the 22nd, from MI, we drove directly to Columbus Ohio for a week (+ weekend) seminar with reward-based trainers Axel Van der Borght and Guy Penning from Belgium. I learned several new things and got some very helpful tips for everything from obedience to scentwork to bite work. It was a LOT of fun and I look forward to their next visit to the states!

Here we were working on platforms that will later be positioned on either side of the hurdle for Ring sports (or on the far side for the Schutzhund hurdle). Guy is working with Dazzle.

Dazzle's previous 2 on/ 2 off training for Agility was confusing him now that I wanted all 4 feet on the platform :-) Axel and Guy shared SO many ways platforms can be used!

Some of the ways they use platforms:

Sit, Stand and Down out of motion

Jumping for ring sports/Sch

Go outs

Teaching the dog to move from front to heel

Hold and bark (then back to perfect heel position)

Stay

Position changes at a distance

The weather during the seminar was a bit scary at times. We had a tornado touch down near our house while I was at the seminar and the wind, rain and hail made outside work impossible at times.

But we did manage to get some work done outside and Dazzle had a BLAST!

The main thing I wanted to work on was getting Dazzle to let go of the sleeve (his most favorite tug toy). We tried several methods.

Here, Axel is trying to keep the toy immobilized while I hold Dazzle so he can't rebite if he lets go.

Here, we're just waiting him out. It took several minutes, but he did eventually drop it. Axel and Chad talk about decoy work while we wait.

Here I'm trying to offer him food. At one point, I slipped food into his mouth while he was still holding the sleeve but he didn't care.

We did make significant progress as you can see in this "raw" (unedited) video taken near the end of the seminar:
VIDEO- Dazzle lets go of the sleeve!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcq8fZE7L-I

He also had big fun getting the sleeve into his mouth...

Not sure who's having more fun- Dazzle or Chad :-)

In the end he got to leave with his prize

The seminar drew people from as far as California, Louisiana and even Venezuela! The folks from LA brought Dazzle's sister Jazmine and his father Polo. Dazzle had a lot of fun playing with his sister Jaz.

Here's the family photo: (L to R)
Like A Hurricane Aiolos Apollon (Polo) with Ken
Loup Noir Jazmine (Jaz) with Debbie
Loup Noir Jasper (Dazzle) with me
Loup Noir Jolie (Bean) with Elissa

Dazzle also had fun with some of the other dogs before the seminar got started in the mornings and with other dogs into the wee hours of the mornings after we all went out to dinner then came back to the center to hang out, train and socialize. Often, we were up around 8 am and didn't get to bed till 1 or 2am the next morning (all WEEK!) on the weekend, we got up earlier and stayed up later :-)

Hot dog Belgian grin (Panting after a hard play session)

Being wiggly to Bohdi

Me with the seminar presenters Guy Penning and Axel Van der Borght. We're all wearing the T-shirt I designed that says "Warning, low flying Malinois"

Dazzle on Sunday, the last day. All he wanted to do was lay in the cool grass in the shade :-) I think he was nearly as sleep deprived and brain overloaded as I was!

More weather photos by Emily. Me and Renee not wanting to go outside.

A very cool training device called the "Cannonball". It's a remote activated ball launcher and has as many uses as platforms!

Jolie, Dazzle's sister, doing bite work

Jolie's new brother Habbit (a.k.a. Honey Badger)- too cute for words!

Erin also had a puppy at the seminar that was adorable

Polo (Dazzle's dad) next to Jazmine (Dazzle's sister) showing the big size difference. When Dazzle was a pup, I was hoping he would be as big as his dad, but I'm very happy with his size now (24" / 60 lbs.)

Polo got to practice too!

Overall, it was exhausting and brain filling, but SO worth it!! I'm already working on some of the things we learned and soon I'll be learning more from Denise Fenzi, then we'll visit a friend at the KY horse Park then we'll be off to a week at camp... No wonder my summers fly by!!

conference

2011-05-07T10:23:00.000-04:00

I attended a conference Tues-Thurs as an "aide" for a blind friend. My main job was to help her navigate with her guide dog using verbal cues. Dazzle went along to help me and it worked out great to wear out both dogs each evening so they would lie quietly through the conference sessions.

When I first arrived in the very nice hotel room, I put a sheet from home across the bed to keep dog hair off the bed. Unfortunately, Dazzle immediately gravitated to the pile of pillows! Those pillows were quickly removed and stowed in the closet to be replaced with the pillow I brought from home. Good thing too, the pillows on the bed were WAY too soft for me.

Dazzle and his girlfriend started with the play sessions as soon as the doors connecting our rooms was opened. My bed seemed to be the favorite wrestling spot. Thankfully they both play silently.

Love nibbles

Getting tired, so they play while lying down :-)

He is SUCH a tease! (But he does let her get an end so they can play tug too)

Tired, happy dogs

My only regret is that I caught a bug of some sort that started as a sore throat and has been living in my sinuses in the form of congestion and pressure. I spent most of yesterday in bed or sleeping on the couch trying to get rid of the fever. I feel a little better today, but I'm still rather stuffy.

I had signed up for a frisbee event for today, but I don't feel well enough to attend :-( Sorry Dazzle

My Facebook page!

2011-05-02T01:48:00.003-04:00

I have my own "fan page" on Facebook now! Stop by and click "like" :-)

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=204009866306489&id=100000924312049&ref=notif&notif_t=like#!/pages/Dazzle/168699929853175

Dock Diving

2011-04-30T21:02:00.000-04:00

SO nice of the weather to be PERFECT for the Dock Diving event today! Dazzle had a great time playing with new friends, swimming (and swimming and swimming) and jumping off the dock.

"What do you mean it's not my turn yet?"

Here's a photo of him waiting for his turn to jump. The end of the dock they were jumping off was behind the blue slide (no, the dogs didn't get to use the slide :-)

There was a nice lady there who took over 700 photos of the nearly 40 dogs that were there and those photos will get put on-line. I'll share those once they are available. She said she thought she got some good ones of Dazzle.

It was held at Presnell Plantation (1 sq. mile of property!) which is a VERY nice place, set up for multiple activities. There was a bow hunting competition going on near where we were too (they were not shooting our way). I think it might be a working farm as well. Not sure, I only saw a small part of it as I drove in. But the lake where we were had a little cabin that was very well maintained. It was not an "official" dock, but it worked just fine for practice. I heard a rumor the owner might be considering the installation of a competition dock!

Dazzle had several practice jumps before they started the competition (only 2 "waves" (rounds)). Each dog gets 2 jumps per wave and the longest distance of the two is the one that counts. Dazzle's jumps were:
(Wave 1) 16' 3" and 18' 3" (his best of the day!)
(Wave 2) 13' 6" and 15' 0" (he was clearly tired by the time we got to wave 2 :-)

All in all a GREAT day! And I now have a tired dog! Thank-you Indy Dock Dogs!

FINALLY! Good weather!

2011-04-29T23:51:00.000-04:00

The first day of no rain in 2 weeks!! AND it was relatively warm AND it was sunny! I had to celebrate by taking Dazzle to the park. We went biking around the short path, then I let him run after his ball for a bit in a field.

This evening was Agility practice and he did great running with Sarah, especially since I haven't made it to a practice session with him for a few months!

I tried to get other photos, but the darn digital delay caused them to either be snapped too early or too late :-(

Here are a few other photos I got today...

Trees are in bloom and the ducks are enjoying the sun. I think even the ducks are glad it stopped raining!

Statues in the park

When will the storms end?!

2011-04-27T00:06:00.000-04:00

I have not slept in my bed since April 16th! ELEVEN nights of thunderstorms so far. :-( Since Dazzle doesn't like thunder and he gets a bit snippy with the other dogs, we keep the dogs separated during thunder. Dazzle has never bothered Bear though, so Bear also gets the special treatment (as he pretty much insists!)

I have basically been living in the office and back half of the house since the 16th when the string of storms started. I even ended up moving a mattress into the office! This way I can keep the TV on and drown out some of the thunder for Dazzle. As you can see, the dogs LOVE the idea! I woke up in a pretzel position trying to sleep around the dogs last night. :-)

We have had record rainfall for the month so far and according to the weatherman, we will have nearly 13" of rain by Thursday (28th) when they say it might actually take a break for a few days!!

Thanks to the high winds, we have some damage to the house that also needs to get fixed and so much rain has blown in the dog door we have wood starting to rot!

Have I mentioned how much I really hate strong storms and tornado warnings! I am SO ready for the calm warm days of summer!

Explosives detection dog?

2011-04-14T17:03:00.000-04:00

Since Dog Scouts of America just announced their Scent Detection competition program, I decided to step up the doodling I have been doing with Dazzle's identification of (the scent of) gun powder. Just for fun, I got a photo of him doing his "point" behavior at my desk clock (I took it outside for better light and angle):

He did this behavior on his own (a sustained pointing) when he wanted a ball. But I haven't yet been able to get it reliably on cue so I can use it as his alert behavior. For the seminar this past weekend, I switched to a nose touch with duration of contact, but I still want to work on getting the "point" more reliable :-)

Steve and Jen White seminar

2011-04-11T23:24:00.000-04:00

Over this past weekend, Dazzle and I attended a 3-day seminar presented by Steve and Jen White. They are incredible people and I felt like I really learned a LOT! Friday was the scent work seminar and while it got a bit off-track and we didn't really follow the planned power point, I do think it was very helpful and Dazzle and I made progress. After the seminar, Dazzle had a chance to play with the new scent wall at Posidog in Columbus:

The wall has 3 holes per panel connected to pipes on the back side that hold the scent item and allow a tennis ball or thin tug toy to be delivered to the dog when the dog finds the hole with the scent. Distraction scents can be put in the tubes as well (one had a tennis ball in it). The tubes can be moved around so that the scent can be placed at different holes/levels. Dazzle did well locating the target scent and thought the ball dispensing wall was awesome!

We had working spots on Friday for the "Reliable Scent Work for the Real World" and on Saturday for the "Raising the bar" session. I have SO much to work on now :-) I was reminded of just how much a behavior can get broken down into smaller components. And that several other factors (like accuracy, speed, latency, etc.) need to be worked on separately along with the usual 3D's (distance, duration, distraction) when raising criteria.

Sunday we had an observer spot for the "problem solving" session and Dazzle got to spend more time in his "convertible". Here is his typical pose when people were practicing- resting his head and watching what was going on:

When it was just lecture, he laid down and went to sleep. The top can be zipped closed, but he prefers it to be open. If there was anything that caught his attention, he would "meer cat" through the top to check it out :-)

I worked on some new training plans and found Steve is right (big surprise! :-) "The training plan only lasts till first contact with the dog" because once we started working, I found I needed to modify my carefully laid out plan to meet Dazzle at his level (either easier or at a higher level than I thought he would start).

There was a big group photo taken on Sunday, but I don't have it from Chad/Sarah yet.

Belated March 31st snow photos

2011-04-04T23:45:00.000-04:00

I took these on March 31st while visiting in Cleveland. Hard to believe it's Spring when the snow is piling up outside!

Thankfully it didn't stick around long.

Now we have thunderstorms and potential tornadoes to deal with, but at least it's getting warmer.

Dazzle got his CD title!

2011-04-04T11:45:00.001-04:00

This past weekend, we were in Medina for an obedience trial and Dazzle earned the CD (Companion Dog) title. Four trials were offered (2 each day) and we entered them all.

Trial 1- Dazzle had a beautiful run for the on lead heeling pattern, Figure 8 heeling, stand for exam, of-leash heeling and recall (I think that was everything :-) Then we went in with the other dogs in his class (Novice) and did the off-leash group exercises (1 minute sit stay and 3 minute down stay) with the owners across the ring. While on the sit stay, Dazzle started to sniff the floor around him and then sank into a down literally FOUR seconds before the judge called "return to your dogs". I couldn't believe it! That meant the entire run was non-qualifying! Four freakin' seconds!! Then I found out we would have gotten High in Trial with the highest score of ALL the obedience dogs of all the different levels in that trial!! AAAGGGGHH! I've never gotten a HIT award, but really would have liked to have it! Oh well. I still loved his run and was very happy with how well he did.

Trial 2- After waiting around for the other competitors to finish (Novice was the last class of the day), Dazzle was bored and tired and cranky and his run was not nearly as pretty and focused and crisp as his morning run. But he didn't try to take it out on his leash and he did stay with me and did as I asked and he remained in the sit on the stay :-) We qualified with a 185 and took first place (others were having trouble too, so we had the highest of the lower scores :-) A dog in a different class scored higher and got the HIT award.

Trial 3 and 4 on Sunday Dazzle was really "on" both shows and had wonderful runs! He had a few crooked sits we need to work on, but scored a 194.5 and a 194 taking a third place in trial 3 and a 2nd place in trial 4.

Over all I was VERY happy with how he did and I'm glad that is out of the way so now I can concentrate on teaching him the fun stuff for the next level (directed jumping, dumbbell retrieves, scent work, etc.)

Thunder, play and roses

2011-03-23T23:32:00.002-04:00

Had my camera on me today and got some photos of an impressive thunderhead cloud and of Dazzle playing after Treibball class.

It was a very weird weather day. It would go from completely clear skies, to dark/torrential rain/high wind then back to clear skies!

We even got some hail earlier today (but since it was over 70 degrees, it melted quickly):

Unfortunately, the storms brought in much colder air and lows will be the 20's with high's only in the 40's for the next several days. I think it's an extinction burst from winter and that winter will soon be DONE!

Dazzle had a blast playing with a new girlfriend at the training center tonight after class...

They were moving so fast, my camera couldn't get a clear shot!

Dazzle being a flirt...

Yesterday, I got some additional photos of the LOVELY roses my husband got me. I set them outside to get better light and of course the dogs had to check them out. :-)

REALLY stop and smell the roses :-)

I love how this one turned out:

10th Anniversary!

2011-03-21T17:35:00.000-04:00

My husband and I celebrate our 10th Anniversary today and when I went into our office, I found 10 beautiful roses and the sweetest card waiting for me! Oh, and a dark chocolate (candy) bunny too :-)

I love him very much and hope for many, MANY more years together!