.The July camp was LOTS of fun! Dazzle earned 5 more badges and was TIRED by the time we got in the van to head home :-) We didn't hike with the campers, but occasionally I took the golf cart out and let him run off leash around the trails with me. He's so good about checking in and mostly staying in sight. Only rarely going off trail after a chipmonk or squirrel or good smell, but coming right back..He got the CPR badge the first night during that class. He wasn't so sure what Beth was trying to do when she was trying to get him to lie on his side to take his pulse and demonstrate that a person (that's not the owner) can do that, restrain him and check his respirations. He also had to let someone (not me) put a muzzle on him (which was no problem) along with a few other requirements I don't recall off the top of my head. I learned how to do CPR on a doggie manikin, which I hope I never have to do to a real dog!.Dazzle was a great demo dog for the Dog Scout class I taught each day. Thankfully he was also very good waiting in the room with just a baby gate across the door when I had to do things that were easier to do without him. He got loose once when some kids were petting him and the gate fell. He checked the computer area first then ran right to my "office" and found me. :-) He seemed content to curl up behind my chair, so I let him stay with me more often when I was in my office doing paperwork..We got a great photo of all the Dog Scouts in uniform, but for some reason it wasn't on the photo CD. I'm checking into the whereabouts of those photos..Dazzle won the Devil Duck game (staff catagory) this camp by retrieving 6 ducks before time ran out. He was really having fun with it!
On Wednesday evening it was cool enough to have some lure coursing! Dazzle really loved it (as I thought he might) and earned the lure coursing badge. At the end of his first run, he acted like he wasn't sure he wanted to get near the lure (a plastic bag) once it stopped. But after the second and third runs he had no problem with it, he did a quick sniff then came to me when I called.
VIDEO: Lure Coursing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3FaO2hRkXI
Above is a 2 minute video of his 3 runs set to music. Below are a couple photos from that video. It was overcast and late evening, so the lighting wasn't bright enough to get good action shots with a regular camera.
Dazzle earned his Obstacle 2 and 3 badges at this camp. No agility photos though. We didn't seem to be out there when the photographer was there. He earned the Obstancle 1 badge at the June camp, so this time he did the Dog Walk, Chute and a low jump for Obstacle 2 and the Tire, Teeter and Table for Obstacle 3. He is very confident on all the equipment now. Almost TOO confident because he goes so fast he misses contact zones. I will be doing lots of contact zone work with him separate from the obstacle training. I think once he learns that I WANT him to touch the part that is a different color, he will do it well..
We didn't participate in the talent/dance contest at this camp, but there was some tough competition this camp! Lots of great routines including some exhibition only (not being judged) runs by Gloria Voss (the World Canine Freestyle Organization judge that taught the freestyle classes this camp). I wanted to attend those classes, but it seemed there was always somewhere else I needed to be during her class time :-( She is going to be holding a 2 day seminar at camp in September though! Not sure if I'll be able to attend or not.
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Dazzle also earned the Dog Care badge. He had to show he would tollerate his feet, ears, head and body being checked and handled, nails getting clipped or filed, eyes, ears and teeth getting cleaned as well as anal sac expression (oh joy!) He was a trooper and fell asleep during the brushing and nail filing part. :-) I had to demonstrate I knew about things like nutrition, parasites, vaccinations and other dog care basics.
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We participated in the IMPROV competition on Saturday at camp and Dazzle got 3rd place in the novice class. DSA will soon be offering titling events for IMPROV and I think he will do well with it! It is very unique in that you never know what the judge might ask you to do. There are only very basic outlines for the exercises that are open to interpretation by the judge and compeditor. It awards thinking outside the box, teamwork and problem solving skills. Some of the exercises include having the dog do behaviors he knows while staying at least 3' away from the handler (5' away in standard level), being able to send the dog to a designated spot 15' away that may or may not have some sort of visual target for the dog, and being able to have the dog walk on unusual surfaces/objects or otherwise come in contact with weird objects without the leash going tight. It's lots of fun and can be very challenging!
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After camp, we attended a festival that had "dock diving". I put that in quotes because there was nothing official about it ;-) The dock was about 4' wide and 8' long covered in carpet. There was a hill the dogs had to run down to get to the dock and it was about a 4' to 5' drop into the river from the dock! But the turn out for the event was amazing and most of the dogs did jump in and some jumped quite far! 
There were several Dog Scouts in attendance and Lonnie with her dog Panda tied for 1st place in the big dog division (I think it was an 18' jump?), but they lost the jump-off that broke the tie. Indi, a 16 week old puppy (who also earned her Dog Scout title during camp) did some spectacular jumps with excellent form, but was nosed out by a Springer Spanial that jumped 1' farther than Indi. So even though Dog Scouts didn't take home any trophies, we had lots of fun! Dazzle jumped twice and went 7' the first time and 9' the second jump. Several of the Dog Scouts have done standard competitions and said their jumps were about 5' shorter on this "dock" than in real competition. So that means Dazzle might actually be jumping in the 12' - 14' range on a real competition dock. The distances were just "eyeballed" and we weren't sure what the judging standard was (if it was the nose or back feet or what). .
Teri, a member of DSA, lives nearby and came to visit the event with her dog and took some photos. I'm waiting to get them and see how they turned out!
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After the Dock Diving event, we went to an ice cream place for lunch and the dogs rested with us on the covered outdoor patio during the meal. The weather was wonderful! Sunny but still comfortably cool in the shade. Then we went back to the river for the Duck Race. Several of us bought tickets, but none of us won the $1,000. :-( It was still fun to watch and a great afternoon on the river banks!
Ducks being dumped...
Dazzle was facinated by the ducks and several of the dogs really wanted to go get them! Nike was "cheering" them on to the laughter of the crowd.
On our way home, I stopped to get dinner and noticed a field of flags at the Armstrong Air and Space Museum. It was a memorial to fallen heros. I thought it looked like the perfect backdrop for some photos and I was right! You can see how tired Dazzle looks in the first photo :-)
His regal pose :-)
Now I need to get caught up on a huge to-do list including nearly 1000 emails! OY!
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