It's been a year! (+ 1 month)

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I have a note on my calendar that today is the one year anniversary of the day I brought Dazzle home at just 9 weeks old. But in looking at the dates on the photos, it was actually the 29th of last month. Oops!  So 1 year + 1 month :-) It's hard to believe how much we have done, how much he has learned and how many thousands of miles we have travelled in just one year!  I look forward to MANY MANY more with him!
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Stroll down memory lane...
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Stalking corn leaves blowing around the yard the first day home:

"I found some burrs mom"

Road trip to NY (he went to NY state with me twice and we drove to TX and back all before he was 15 weeks old!):

Hard to believe he was SO tiny!

He could fit easily on my lap!

Such big paws you have!

Photo collage of his growth:

What a face :-)

Practicing for the Dog Scout test at the TX mini camp:

Not fitting in my lap as easily anymore:

I have always loved his seemingly effortless and fluid trot!

He LOVES snow!  This was near Cleveland OH

Losing his puppy teeth! Some of his adult teeth were already in.

Another age progression collage:

His first title and ribbons/medals from IABCA (conformation):

Still trying to fit into his puppy bed :-) He really loved this bed!

His next title and ribbons earned were for AKC Rally Novice at 6 mo. old

He is SO fast!  He insists on a run (chasing the ball thrown with the chuck-it) every day, sometimes multiple times a day!

We tried our hand at herding and he did well, but I don't have the money for the number of lessons a herding title would take.

3rd place in the Amateur Division finals at a Dock Dogs competition- who knew! His longest jump was 17 feet 9 inches (measured at the spot where the base of the tail hits the water.)

He has certainly grown up to be a very handsome boy!

Biking today

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It was a nice day, so we went to the dam to go biking.  The first two times across, I had him attached to the bike by his harness (using a springer bike attachment).  But then the few people who had been walking the dam went away, so the third time he went off-leash and I got some video. No cars are usually allowed on the dam, but there was a work crew out there today so there was a big rig trailer at the far end.
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Here's some photos from the video:

VIDEO: Dazzle trotting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4Dv8tPXL-0
It starts at regular speed, then I did some slo-motion at the end.

Fall Colors

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We went out the other day to get some photos of the Fall colors.  I think it was a few days past prime colors, but I still found some nice shots.
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It wasn't the best lighting, but this is the best of the portraits I got. This was with a fill flash, but the light missed his face:

Here's another I like, but again lighting was an issue.  Fill flash was too much and without it made the harsh contrasts.  I was hoping the yellow leaves behind him would be a better "frame" of his head than it turned out.

Some pretty trees at the park:

Same park, at the lake:

The "prairie field" flanked by color:

Found this on a drive:

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While I love the Fall colors, I don't like that it means winter is coming.  So I have mixed feelings.  If I had been thinking, I would have gone back to the dam where I took the picture of him that I used for the previous banner at the top of the blog.  I might drive out there today to see what it looks like.  But I'm guessing the colors are past prime.

Minges Pumpkin Festival

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Happy Fall Ya'll

(even though I can't wait for warmer temps and I wish it was Spring instead of Fall :-)

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I braved the unseasonable cold today, not to go tracking as I thought I might, but to go to a large local pumpkin festival.  I suspected that the winds at the location chosen for tracking practice would be worse than in the protected area of the festival.  I'm not sure how it was at the park, but the festival was quite bareable with no wind and plenty of sun.

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A few of the folks there even remembered Dazzle having been at the festival last year as a puppy and were surprized by how big he was now.  He got several compliments and met several new fans.  There were several other dogs there too, since dogs are allowed, and several vendors that have stuff for dogs.

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This is one of the rows of outside vendors.  There were several rows like this.

This was one of the inside rows.  There were also several of these large tents with multiple vendors inside. 

Little bit of everything; handmade crafts, jewelry, art, decorative signs and lazer carved rocks.  And of course, several food booths serving the usual Fair food. Very little pumpkin food though, which seems odd for a pumpkin festival.  I saw pumpkin bread and pumpkin cookies, but that was about it. Other food booths had jams and jellies, peanut brittle and dips/sauces. At least one booth was devoted to just handmade dog treats, but Dazzle didn't like any of them (no surprise for Mr. Finicky).
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We walked to the farm part and Dazzle was really facinated by the pig

The pig, while not afraid, didn't return the love.  While Dazzle was trying to give him kisses, he (or maybe she, I didn't check) kept trying to nip Dazzle's nose and I think Dazzle thought he was playing.

Then Dazzle tried to get the Donkey to play... 

But the Donkey ignored him, so he moved on.

We didn't get close to the chickens and turkey though because Dazzle was WAY too interested in their movements and sounds. It was really funny though how the turkey would respond to the kid's laughter.  There were two girls who giggled every time the turkey gobbled, and the turkey gobbled every time they laughed.  I wish I had it on video because the laughter was infectious and it wasn't long before everyone was laughing!

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After the festival, I went in search of "ski pants" and none of the places I checked carried them!  Well, I take that back, Burlington Coat Factory had a grand total of 6 pairs of mens pants in huge sizes.  I guess we're too far from any mountain?  I did find plenty of insulated Camo and Carharts though. I don't recall seeing ski pants in stores around here though.

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Is it Spring yet?

update

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It's been awhile since I've posted, so just a quick update...  Dazzle is doing fine after the neuter.  Actually, as much as I tried to limit him, he was back to normal activity the next day! Though I waited till the 3rd day to toss his ball for him, which about made him stir crazy! He kept bringing me toys to throw, so I had a nice pile next to me in the office :-) Each time I told him I wasn't going to throw it, it seemed he thought that meant I wasn't going to throw THAT toy, so maybe a different one would work :-) Other than the obvious, there is little sign of the surgery now and he has healed quickly.
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We went to visit the Dock Dogs Nationals yesterday, but I only stayed about 30 minutes because dispite several layers and a thick coat, I was quite cold and that hurts.  Dazzle was upset that he didn't get to play in the water with the competing dogs! It was overcast and only 40 degrees with a wind chill lower than that, but the dogs didn't seem to mind!  I did manage to time it (quite accidently) so I got to see some jumps of someone I know, so that was cool. 
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Dazzle seems to be calming down a bit with regards to Coyote.  So that's good!  We have been keeping them separated and/or muzzled, but the past few days we've let them together unmuzzled at times when they would normally be sleeping (mid-day, evening) and they have done just fine.  Today I even had them together when I was preparing and eating my dinner and they did fine.  They don't hate each other and they don't WANT to fight, so that certainly helps. The main issues have been over arousal/excitement or when Coyote thinks Dazzle has broken a "manners law".  Coyote has a very definite sense of what he feels is right and wrong.  Calm sensible behavior is right and excited or rude behavior is something he feels the need to address.  But it has gotten easier to interupt his "I'm going to take care of THAT behavior" attitude before he gets too close to Dazzle.

While I was visiting my parents, I saw a video on YouTube by BusyBees about how to teach a dog to roll a barrel along with how to make one.  Well, I didn't think the bike tires that were suggested would make a big enough "barrel" so I had my dad build one from scratch.  This is from 2 sheets of plywood and several 1x2 boards, then covered with carpet.  Dazzle LOVES it and thinks it's really cool to be up high.  His head is level with mine when he's on it!  He is as agile as a cat and can jump onto it from a stand still.  We've only worked up to rolling it a few feet at a time, but he's getting the hang of how to make it move on his own.  I'll have to get some video if it warms up outside.  For now we're playing on it in the basement.

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Dazzle is neutered

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The surgery today went well.  Nothing out of the ordinary and no complications with any part of it.  He is laying next to me now sleeping off the effects of the knock-out drugs.  He seemed really confused and a bit worried about the lack of function in his legs (due to the drugs  affecting the signals from his brain that tell his legs how to move). 
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He's still a bit wobbly, but doing much better than this morning. He has investigated the stitches and licked a bit, but hasn't been bothering it so I haven't put on a muzzle or cone, but I will probably put a soft muzzle on him tonight so he can't lick it while I'm sleeping and not paying attention. He's the only one in the office with me and the rest of the boys are gated out so he can sleep in peace. 
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The doc put in extra tight internal stitches to close the part that was cut, then put in subQ stitches on the incision and then used a skin glue on top of those.  So they should hold up to his activity level, which I'll try to keep low for awhile, but we'll see if he cooperates :-). I did drain the pool so he can't get soaked.  Thank-you Alicia for not going crazy with the clippers too!  The minimal shaving hides it well so he doesn't look like he just had surgery (except for the little shaved patch on his front leg for the IV, but that hair is pretty short anyway, so it's not too obvious, especially since his skin is almost the same color as his fur).
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So all is well -knock on wood- and we'll be keeping our fingers crossed that this helps alleviate the tension between him and Coyote and gives Dazzle a bit longer "fuse" than the hair trigger he had before. But we're going to continue with muzzles and management as fight prevention for awhile to give the hormones time to normalize till we see if this works.
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Freestyle Photos

Here are some of my favorite photos taken by Amber at All In One Studios during the freestyle event:

The other photos can be seen on her website at http://www.allinonestudios.smugmug.com/

Thank-you Amber!

Video of freestyle

Here's the link to the video of our competition performances and scores...

VIDEO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLa4IKkwE2A

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Freestyle title!

We competed this weekend in the "Paws A Rockin" Freestyle event in Marion OH.  The photo above is blurry, but that's the best my little camera could do since flash photography isn't allowed and my flash wouldn't have carried far enough anyway.  A sincere thank-you to those who took photos for me, I know it's not your fault the photos are blurry!  Good news is that a private pro photographer was there taking photos of another dog and she was willing to also take some photos for me- for free! A huge thank-you to Amber Scott of All In One Studios in Franklin OH.  Her website is http://www.allinonestudios.smugmug.com/  I will soon be getting a disk with some much better quality photos on it and I gave her permission to put the photos on her website too. I'll post some here later when the disk arrives.

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We had a Belgian flag design and did our routine to the first 2 min. of "The Belgian Song"  The whole song can be heard on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTrNh3BlBLk I'm working on the videos of our routine.  I may or may not need to wait till I'm back home to upload them.

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Dazzle did REALLY well and performed off-leash, in the new place, with great focus on me.  Focus and performance were actually better on Sunday, but the scores don't reflect that for some reason.

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On Saturday, we got an 8.7 for Technical Merit (out of a possible 10) and an 8.7 for Artistic Impression (out of a possible 10).  Great scores for a Beginner routine!

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On Sunday, we only got a 7.9 for TM, even though I thought it felt much more precise and smooth, but the AI score was higher than yesterday- 8.9

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I am thrilled with how well he did in a new place, off-leash and with an audience clapping during the routine for parts they liked, etc.  It earned him a new title of: W-FD/MF (which stands for: WCFO- Freestyle Dog/Musical Freestyle) WCFO stands for World Canine Freestyle Organization. On Saturday, we got a "judge's choice" award (a wrist watch) and a tug toy (though that was a separate award and I didn't write down what it was for, so now I can't recall).  On Sunday, we got a "highest scoring beginner A" prize (a book of tricks) as well as a nice trophy.

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Anita was nice enough to let me stay with her on Saturday night (Thank-you Anita!) and her dog Ceaser really enjoyed having Dazzle for a sleep over :-)  They played all evening in both the house and the yard- running and wrestling and having a blast.  I was worried that Dazzle might be tired and cranky for his Sunday routine, but I let him sleep in the van all morning till I was just about to take him in the ring.  Seems to have worked well!

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I'm looking forward to future freestyle competitions!  It's a great group of fun and friendly people.  It's also a more laid-back pace than most of the shows I have attended.  With about 24 compeditors each day and only 1 judge (who had to take a bit of time to do his written eval of each performance) there was plenty of time between routines and to get the next dog ready without feeling rushed.

Parade

This evening we participated in a large parade as a member of the training club's group. I don't know how many people/dogs we ended up with, but I know there were over 17 dogs, which is what I counted at one point while waiting.  The above photo was taken while we waited about an hour for the parade to get to our group's start.  As you can see, I didn't walk.  I'm SO glad I brought the bike because from the car, to the meet-up spot, then the whole parade and getting back to the car was quite the trip.  Dazzle was confused about why he was hooked to the bike but we just waited and waited, but he enjoyed schmoozing with the other dogs and people there.

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When we actually got to move, it was slow going, but I did very little peddling. Actually my hand is sore from having to keep the brake applied!  He was glad when we got to the end and was able to move out in a nice trot to get back to the van before it got completely dark :-) The participation and turn out for this parade is amazing!  I had heard of it, but didn't realize it was so big!  The parade started at 6pm and our group (in Division 8) didn't start till after 7:30! And the crowds you see below were typical along the whole route- several people deep.

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Dazzle is getting fixed

Well, the saying goes... "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!" But since his attitude seems to be starting to break down, he's going to the vet early next month to get an attitude adjustment. I had planned to wait till he was around 18 months old, but based on his X-rays he had done for his hips, his growth plates were almost closed at that time and he will be 14 months old when it's done.  So I don't think it will be a problem. He hasn't gained any height since he reached 24" tall when he was about 8 months old.  
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He and Coyote have gotten into a few fights in the past 5 or so months, and with Coyote half blind and smaller, he's getting the worst of it.  Although the two have really serious fights, neither has gotten badly injured (scratches, hair pulled out, minor punctures) so I'm thankful they both have good bite inhibition and tough skin!  But since both Mike and I HAVE gotten some serious bites trying to break them up, it's definitely time.
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The fights are rare, but when they occur both dogs are pretty serious about not backing down or letting go.  I am noticing more posturing within the last month.  Dazzle seems to be the one starting most of the fights, but Coyote's not completely innocent.  I'm hoping that when Dazzle is no longer affected by "testoterone poisoning", we'll have peace restored.
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We are keeping a close eye on both of them in high arousal situations like when Mike or I comes home.  When they are not over-excited, they are fine around each other.  This afternoon when the neighbor was mowing his lawn, I kept Dazzle in the office with me while Coyote went out to "defend the yard" from the eeevil tractor.
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I am doing my best to reward correct interactions and redirect any posturing as well as using prevention at times when high arousal is likely, which I think has helped keep the fights rare. But I don't want to risk someone getting a ear bitten off or an eye punctured or some other serious injury.
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I stopped by the vet to pick up some supplements Coyote gets and put Dazzle on the scale. He now weighs 59 lbs!  I have found that mixing in pureed liver with his food has done the trick to get him to eat. He was 55 lbs 1 month ago, so he's gaining a bit of weight and looks good - more like a filled out adult than a skinny puppy and his hip bones aren't prominent anymore. This is a good weight for him, so I might cut back just slightly on his rations to maintain it.
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Storm issues

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I guess it's offical- Dazzle is afraid of thunder.  It's 3 in the morning and I'm wide awake because he's definitely wide awake and trying to get inside my skin.  He started off running between me (in the office) and the sliding glass door near the kitchen barking ferociously every time he heard a thunder rumble.  Then he proceeded to crawl in my lap or try to get under the desk while shaking, panting, drooling, shedding, the works. Oh joy.
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I saw hints of this during the last storm so I have tried hard to gradually and carefully pair loud noises with his favorite things.  Not easy when he doesn't care for food treats which makes it hard to do rapidly repeated rewards.  But I have played and tossed/tugged his favorite tennis ball and even had the bite sleeve out.  At the festival Saturday, he spooked at the whip crack, but then recovered.  He didn't like the distant cannons, but he wasn't anywhere near this freaked out (thankfully!) I don't understand why tonight it's so bad.
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Between the storm cells when it quieted down he was willing to play with the ball and he chewed on a bone for awhile.  But as soon as it's loud again, he's back to trying to get into my skin.
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At least we're near the end of the storm season.  Hopefully by next spring he will have matured out of this.  Probably wishful thinking.  I may get and try some Melatonin for the next storm. Or maybe we'll have to move to TX.  I hear they are having a drought.
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Sleepless but sleepy

Ren Fest

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It was a great day to be outside enjoying history, well history with a large side helping of humor :-) 

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Dazzle and I visited the Renaissance Festival today.  He did great with the odd costumes, and the unusual sights, sounds and smells.  We were a bit too close to the front for a whip routine and he starled and barked at the whip crack, but recovered well.  He wasn't too keen on the cannon fire of the Pirate ship either (though we weren't anywhere near it). But other than those two things, he did quite well! 

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We strolled from one show to the next, so mostly I was sitting and he was relaxing in the shade chewing on sticks or snacking on grass. :-)  I did bring a bully stick for him to chew on (apparently certain sticks were better) and a ball for him to play with during the down times.  He was pulling a bit at the start because he kept wanting to go faster, but relented and walked nicely when he realized it was a "slow pace" day and not a "dog event" for him :-)  We saw a few other service dogs and spoke with several people who have, had or train service dogs as well as several people inquiring about his breed.

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Here's a few photos from the day:

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It was a VERY busy day there! But it only felt crowded in a few spots, like the "road" in this photo.  The rest of the event was more spread out and didn't feel so crowded.

We even saw the Queen! This was a parade of merchants and performers followed by the Queen on horseback.

Dazzle wasn't phased by the parade from our spot in the shade where he was chewing on a ball. Jugglers, drums, dancers, horses, odd costumes, yelling, singing...
- no big deal! :-)

I sat in the "chapel" to rest in the shade and this performer sat down and was talking to me about Dazzle and when she strummed her guitar he was all ears!  I wish I had gotten a photo of his head turned sideways, but this was the best I got.  Dazzle really liked the sound and had his tail wagging and eyes riveted on her as she played for the first couple minutes. After that, he laid down and chewed on a stick :-)

Muuuuudddd Shhhooowwww! 

The Mud Show is THE BEST!  We went to two of their shows and I emensely enjoyed both.  It seems they didn't practice their routine in the past 10 months because one guy kept forgetting his lines (and said "I guess we should have rehersed!")  But they did a great job of ad-libbing and kept the audience in stitches.  During the second show, they found a sign on stage that said "sauerkraut balls" and they found that to be funny, so they worked it into the show and it was hillarious! They said it worked so well, they might keep it in the routine!

I had Dazzle pose with 2 of them after their show. What he really wanted was to check out their mud pit! Yes, the guys are covered in mud! The one guy (that had wiped his face) is still holding their donation bucket.

I saw this guy in front of a shop that sold all kinds of fairy stuff and it just made me laugh so I had to take a photo. It is the legs and wings of a fairly sticking out of the frog's mouth :-)

Over all a great day and great socialization for Dazzle. We're both tired now and he's sleeping soundly near me. I'm going to go lie down to rest my legs and back.