Our weekend

Read about Dazzle's water adventures below the tracking info...

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This weekend I got up before dawn (I know, WHAT was I thinking!) to help with a tracking test near Dayton. It was only in the 50's by the time I left yesterday and was much colder at dawn when I arrived. On Saturday, we plotted out where the tracks would be laid and then we were free to go. I was a "cross track" layer for the 1st TDX track, so I was done pretty early. For some reason I was expecting low grassy fields or maybe plowed fields for the tracks. Not for the TDX apparently! We were walking through areas 99% of people would not try to walk! There were dense and thick, waist high weeds (some 1/4" to 1/2" diameter stalks) that liked to grab your feet, scrub brush and thorn bushes that liked to grab your clothes, all between scrub cedar, pine and a few coniferous trees. Had I known, I doubt I would have volunteered. I was SO sore after one track that I had trouble walking today. I don't know HOW the judges walked ALL the tracks on both days! Each was about 1/4 mile through that mess. As I was driving home, I realized I should have gotten a photo of it so everyone could see just what I was talking about, but I didn't think of that when I was there.

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Sunday morning (today) came much too early and painfully, but I had committed myself and I knew that today's walk was much shorter. So I was up before dawn again to head back up there. I didn't need to walk the whole track, just cross it twice (along with another person) in the places designated by the judges (and by flags, which we removed as we passed them.) I had to stop a few times (but not near the track) to rest my legs. I was SO happy for the tramped down deer track we were able to follow for part of the way!

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It was really hard on me, but I'm glad I did it! I learned a lot about tracking from the people there and saw what Dazzle and I could be facing if we choose to do a TDX. I think we'll shoot for a VST instead though :-) I heard those are usually on a bit easier terrain (but includes solid surfaces, which don't hold scent very well.) One tidbit of info I found to be interesting: One person there said they were having a debate (in the recent past) about double walking the practice tracks (meaning you walk one direction, then re-trace your steps to get back to the start) versus only going one direction away from the start and circling back well away from (and down wind of) the track to get back to the start. They laid one long track in a single direction. They brought several dogs up to that track from the side (90 degree angle) to see which way they would choose to go. The dogs that only practiced on the tracks laid in one direction went to the "hotter" scent (the direction the person walked.) The dogs trained on double practice tracks went the opposite direction (toward where the person started.) So I don't think I'll be re-walking my practice tracks! :-)

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Unfortunately, none of the 7 dogs passed their tracks successfully. One handler missed the dogs cue regarding a dropped article and failed to pick it up (disqualification) while others took the wrong track (either deer trails, horse trails or in one case it was the cross track, but not mine.) So that was eye opening as well. None of the dogs (even the short corgi or the PBGV) had issues with the terrain though. I was VERY surpized no one passed, but I was told that's not uncommon because it's very hard for the dogs to stay on track that long. But neither of the 2 TD (beginner level) dogs passed either. There was a good mix of breeds represented: 2 Goldens, PBGV, Corgi, Bernese and 2 German Shepherds. I also met a nice Laekenois (sorry if I misspelled that) that was just visiting, not competing. They are very rare in the U.S. and they are the "curly coated" version of the Belgian Shepherd (Dazzle is the short haired version.)

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After all the tracking was done, I got Dazzle out of the van and walked him to the small nearby pond. He was so determined to drag the huge tree branch out of the pond that he actually did his very first voluntary swimming today! He really had to work up the courage though because the entry into the pond was a sharp drop off to about chest deep water. He ran back and forth along the bank whimpering because he REALLY wanted that branch out of there for some reason, but it was out of his reach. On several attempts, he was balancing right on the very edge of the bank, just teetering there or reaching out with his paw into the water willing that thing to get closer to him. When it didn't, he took that first step and realized it wasn't too deep to stand and got his other front foot in (but it did drop away quickly to swimming depth.) Then he just pushed off the shore, swam out and got that big tree back to shore! I showered him with praise and he was VERY proud of himself! As soon as the tree was successfully rescued from the pond, he had no further interest in it. He immediately started looking for other stuff in the water to fetch, I tossed in a pine cone and he swam right out and got it. I did that twice more and then he was shivering so I made him come away from the water. I let him run around a bit to dry off some before putting him back in the van for the drive home.

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Even though I was very sore, I decided to go for a ride with Dazzle. I figured I could at least sit on a bike so he could get out and stretch his legs a bit more. I had put my bike in the van just in case. He was stuck in the crate almost the whole time I was helping with the tracks both days and was SO good and patient I had to reward him. Plus, it was such a nice day I didn't want to go inside yet. :-) So after I pulled over and took a 15 minute nap on the drive home, we went to the park. When I saw how crowded the trail was, I drove to a usually quiet part of the park that has a small hill. I was planning to just toss his ball down the hill several times to wear him out. However, after a few tosses, we were innundated by a group of teens that were setting up to play soccer. Of course as soon as Dazzle saw the soccer ball, he was right over there meeting them on their way down the hill to the field below. Thankfully they didn't mind and had fun playing "keep away" with him. He had a blast running around them with his tennis ball in his mouth trying to get the soccer ball. At one point he stood directly between the two water bottles they were using as a goal and the kids got a big kick out of it. It looked like he had decided to play goalie! After a few minutes of that play, I decided we should move on and I went back to the bike trail with him.

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It was a BEAUTIFUL day today and the park was VERY crowded, but he did great ignoring all the other bikes, roller bladers, strollers, people and dogs we passed (and we were almost constantly passing something or someone!)

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At the mid way point, I stopped at the water for him to play again. He had a great time splashing around and there was quite an audience with so many people having the same idea for their dogs and kids. He got a 6 year old? to toss a stick for him multiple times. I was so proud of him because he wasn't taking it out of the kid's hand as soon as it was picked up, he waited patently for the kid to toss it and then went to get it and dropped it at his feet for another toss. Other kids were throwing rocks in the water and that was almost as much fun for him. He kept "diving" for them but because of the delay on my camera I only got one decent shot of his head in the water. He was dunking it completely though (past his ears) to snorkle! Definitely a "water dog!"

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He didn't want to leave! He was shivering, but wouldn't come when I called him. He went trotting a little ways away to play with another kid that was skipping rocks, so I moved back behind the row of people and waited for him to realize I was "gone" (not where he left me.) When he did, he ran up and down the short rocky beach looking for me and then ran to the parked bike and I called him so he wouldn't run in front of any passing bikes. He was very relieved to "find" me and I gave him treats, but then he wanted to go back in! If I hadn't had his leash, I know he would have gone back in. But we completed the rest of the ride without incident.

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Here's some photos:

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Running though the water (Actually he tended to bound like a deer!)

Some of the kids that were tossing sticks and rocks for him (including water logged sticks that sank) :-)

Full speed past the kid that was tossing the stick the most (The water was COLD! but the kid's getting soaked didn't seem to mind):

ALMOST got the head dunk here (darn digital delay!):

Any fish in here?

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"SHAKE!"

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I'm SO bummed that the only blurry photo out of many was this one! I think it would have been such a nice photo...

Biking

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On Tuesday, before class, the weather was nice enough to meet some friends in the park with their dogs for a picnic dinner. After that, we went for a walk on a fairly flat trail along a stream. Dazzle had a BLAST!!! He was doing great recalls and even found a ball to play with which he carried for almost the entire walk. He and the other dogs were having fun jumping in and out of the water too. I took a few photos, but when I just went to edit them, they were not on my camera!? I have no idea why. I saw them on the camera view screen after I took them, but now they are not on the card. I'm bummed because I think I got a good one of him with his face in the water diving after a stick. I'm wondering if the card got corrupted because it's a 2 GB card and wasn't that full, but I was getting a "card full" error message. I did delete a few images to make room to take the water photos, but apparently that didn't work. I'll get another card as soon as I can.
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Yesterday, it was a beautiful 70 degrees and I had to get back out to enjoy it. I have been slowly introducing Dazzle to my bicycle in the basement, though he has never showed any concern about it. So I felt it was time to put it to the test and take him on the trail. It was the first time he was hooked to the bike and he did GREAT! He pulled a few times to the side for interesting smells, but learned that wasn't really working and stopped doing it. He really seemed to enjoy being able to move at his ground covering trot and had a big grin on his face! Other than a few times mentioned below, he completely ignored everyone else on the trail that we passed. People out walking and jogging, other bikes, kids in strollers and on bikes, even a couple horses.
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He got a bit excited by 2 wild labrador puppies that we were trying to pass and I had to stop and let them pass us so he didn't get in front of the wheel. He's so darn long bodied, that when he is attached to his harness with the Springer, he could still get his head/front feet in front of the wheel if he really pulls. But that is partly because he was able to spin the springer equipment forward. I have since tightened the bolts so it shouldn't move. I also had him hooked to the rear loop of the pulling harness (between his ribs and tail) and after that, I moved the snap to the attachment that was closer to his ribs (where a normal harness attachment is.) So that should prevent him from being able to get in front.
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We only did 1.5 miles which was the short bike trail plus the trail around the ranger building by the lake. Since it was pavement, I didn't want him to wear the pads off his feet. In the middle of the 1 mile bike trail, we stopped at the river and I let him play there. He even got some passing walkers to throw his stick for him when they came down to the shore to look for skipping stones. I tossed his stick in a swimming depth section and he did try to get it, but wasn't quite sure about swimming so he let it float down river. Then he got out, ran along the shore and got it from the shallow part :-)
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We did have a minor incident at the end of the ride. A little kid was throwing food into the lake for the ducks. Dazzle couldn't resist and did get in front of the bike before I could stop. He yelped and held his front paw up for a bit, but I checked it and didn't see or feel any injury. After a little bit of limping as we were stopped there, he put it down and seemed fine. We continued the short ride to the van. When he got in the van, I saw a spot of red on the side of his paw at the top of the pad and checked it again. He had scraped it a bit and it was just oozing blood, not really bleeding. I put a bandage on it with antibiotic cream, but that seemed to bother him more than the injury. I took it off when we got home and after a bit of licking, he was back to ignoring it.
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I went back out later that afternoon to the training center with him to work on some freestyle, but for some reason the player/CD that worked just fine at home was having issues when I tried it there. We played around a bit anyway, till he bumped/scraped his foot going after a ball and started limping and licking at it. So I called it quits. He's fine on it today, running in the yard, etc.
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On the way home, I stopped at Walmart and picked up a pouch for the front of my bike (bigger than the little fanny pack I had straped there to carry a water bottle and folding bowl) so I have room to also carry a small first aid kit and my camera. I'm hoping the tightening I did to the springer will prevent any future problems (that and the memory of what happened when he tried to get in front.) So hopefully I won't need to use the kit. But it's a good thing to have. Especially if we try the much longer bike trail at some point. I also got a better seat for my bike. Dazzle was pulling the bike just enough that I could remain seated and help peddle while going up the small hills, so it wasn't hard on my knees like I thought it would be. When we weren't on an uphill section, I was mostly hitting the brakes from time to time to keep him from getting too fast. No peddling needed. I think this is going to be a great way to exercise him till it gets too hot.
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Last night a front came through and it's back in the 50's and I'm staying inside. Probably better biking weather, I know, but I'm going to let his foot heal a bit more before we go out for another ride. I'm REALLY hoping it will be warmer than what they are predicting for this weekend. I'm going to be helping lay tracks for a tracking test on Sunday near Dayton. I have to go up on Saturday too to figure out where the tracks will be laid, get instructions, etc. For some reason they feel the need to start the day up there at dawn! Since it's about an hour and a half away, it's going to be a couple very early mornings. But I think it will help me see what I need to teach Dazzle with regards to tracking, because I have never seen a tracking test. I'm also looking forward to meeting others in my area that do tracking.

On the road to recovery

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I got a chance to weigh Dazzle at the vet today when I was picking up meds for Coyote's eyes. In 2.5 weeks, he has gained 1.7 pounds. So he's now 48.7 lean, muscular pounds. I also got a chance to edit the 4 photos I took of him Saturday while I was still sick but starting to recover. The editing had to wait till I was caught up on the 1000 emails that piled up in the 4 days I was off line. I'm on a couple really busy lists at the moment.

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This is the view I kept seeing over and over... "come on mom... You can DO eet!"

Which turned into this... "Puleeeezzzz..."

"Digging? Not me. Must have been that other dog..." (You can barely see some of the mud/grass stuck to his foot too)

"I don't have any friends, nobody loves me anymore, no one to toss a ball for the poor little Malinois puppy... Guess I'll just pout " (his eyes kept checking with me to see if I was noticing his "poor dog" routine and hearing his heavy sighs. :-) Then he would decide it wasn't working and would try something else.)

He is SO happy I'm feeling better now! I have gone out several times to toss the ball the length of the yard with the ball scoop/sling. A tired Mali is a happy Mali! We're back to using his meals for training (no more free meals like he got while I was sick. :-) He was also my "demo dog" at the clicker class I started teaching last night and learned to "bow" in just 4 clicks! It didn't really show much "shaping" but it certainly demonstrated the power of the clicker!

I have 12 students (though one is a troop member that has agreed to be my assistant instead of bringing his dog.) Should be a full class next week! This week was without the dogs so I could teach the humans with their full attention. We'll see how well I did next week with getting them all started. :-) Tonight is the C-wags class. We're back in the swing of things again. All I have to do now is get rid of this annoying dry cough and the tickle in my throat causing it.

Sick week

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Monday, I felt just fine. Tuesday as soon as I woke up I knew I was not well. It wasn't until today (Saturday) that I felt well enough to get out of bed and on the computer again. I spent 4 days between the bed and huddled under a blanket on the couch. ALL the dogs did a great job of offering comfort, except when Dazzle decided to jump from one couch to the other onto MY HEAD! But aside from that, even he did a fantastic job of keeping himself entertained (only lost 1 pillow and one pencil, which thankfully he didn't eat!) and not bugging me to play too much. Other than tossing a few toys weakly across the room from where I was, I just couldn't do much more.
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Even today, well yesterday since it's after midnight when I post this, I am still sore and achy, feverish off and on, coughing, sniffling and not ready to go outside to play. So Dazzle is REALLY bored after 5 days of NO training and no directed exercise. Thank GOD for the hard blue ball I got him when he was a pup (that is in several of his growth photos.) He wears himself out pushing it ALL over the yard! And he forces the other dogs to play too and mostly they oblige. Hopefully tomorrow I'll feel well enough and strong enough to go out to toss the ball for him.
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When we got home last week from the park, when it was such nice weather, I filled the baby pool for him. He would shove that ball around, then take a break in the pool, then go back to shoving it around. I think he's going to be as much of a "water baby" as Buster! He also enjoyed dropping the smaller toys in the pool and batting/splashing at them with his feet and "diving" for them by sticking his long nose under the water to get them. He was also willing to lay down in the water though I know it had to be cold straight from the hose.
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It was either last Sunday or Monday that I FINALLY got a decent bit of video of Dazzle and Bear playing! They do this quite often, but don't like anyone to watch them play. Like it's their secret game or something. So I stayed in the kitchen and shot the video through the window. They would stop from time to time when they heard a noise and check to see if anyone was watching. Then Coyote saw them and had to run outside to "break it up" with his presence :-(

I put the short clip to music. Enjoy!
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I measured Dazzle on Tuesday, but he hadn't grown since last week. Didn't get a chance to weigh him.

Went to the park

We went to the park today because it was just TOO beautiful not to be outside! Seventy degrees and mostly sunny! On one of the trails, Dazzle found some fast running water and played a bit in it, chasing sticks and leaves that were floating down. He got a bit deep a few times unexpectedly when he stepped off a rock shelf but after the initial surprize he got himself back to "higher ground" without a problem. I think he is going to be a "water dog" like Buster :-) He was really having fun splashing around! I didn't get photos though. :-(

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Then, because I wasn't ready to go back inside, we took another short trail and I walked slow while he ran ahead and back. He has a really nice auto check-in at just the right distance. Meaning he would only go about 25' ahead, then he would stop and wait for me or come running back before he went on. We did some recall practice too. He also did a great recall away from the one other person we saw on the trail, even though he saw them in the distance. I was surprized with the nice weather that we only passed one other person on this trail. But it's not connected to any other trail and maybe it's too short for most people's hikes? The one person we did meet, happened to have a really friendly female mountain cur (yes, it's a breed.) She and Dazzle had a BLAST running around the open fields where we happened to meet. I DID get some photos of that....

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Here they are in a "stand-off" waiting to see who will dash off first.

ZOOOOMM!!!

Hide and seek in the tall grass:

Resting... Or is that "recharging?"

Posed on a bridge: (It will be nice when the green leaves come back and the dreary brown goes away)

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When I got home, I spent some time playing in the yard with all the dogs. They really enjoyed that! By the end of the play session, everyone's tongues were wide and long and big grins were seen all around. They are all crashed out in the office next to me as I type this. Listening to the sounds outside the open windows.

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Sure wish these tempuratures would stick around, but it's supposed to get colder next week again :-( Thankfully not as cold as last week though. So there's hope!

Spring blog header

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I changed the blog header to a more "spring" like photo in hopes that the warmer weather we are having will stick around! It's supposed to be 70 degrees tomorrow- Yee Haw! The title photo and others posted here were taken in the garden displays at the Home and Garden show we visited Thursday.

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I had to stop and sit a lot, but Dazzle did GREAT and was a hit with many of the vendors and attendees, who asked me all about him. His new harness came in handy to get me out of a few of the low chairs without having to strain my knees. Thankfully we found the hidden elevator so I didn't need to do the steps. Not sure what the designer was thinking when he placed the elevator! I had to ask for directions to it and it was hidden in an alcove.

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As I was setting Dazzle up for his photos, there were a few times when other people took their own photos of him :-) I asked the vendors if it was ok before I put him up on the walls and both times, the vendors took their own photos, with big grins on their faces, saying things like "what a cool dog!" He was very respectful of the displays and didn't do his usual "gardening and pruning" as he walked by that he likes to do with other landscaping. He did grab a nibble of mulch at one point though.

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Things that got his attention were some golf balls being putted on a fake putting green, ribbons blowing on an HVAC display and a person bouncing a basket ball in one of the booths (selling portable B-ball hoops.) In all of these cases, he wanted to get the items and play! But he did come away from them with encouragement. He was unsure of some of the cement statues in the garden department, but after carefully sniffing them, he acted like they were no big deal, even on a second pass later. I did need to pet the big cement "pig" (which I admit was an evil looking thing with very beady eyes) to get him to trust it. He had no issue with any of the cute and jolly pigs though.

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Only thing that spooked him was a water fountain right at his nose level that filled a bucket, which dumped just as he looked away. He didn't expect the bucket to dump and it surprized him. But he did eventually (15 seconds or so) recover and go back to sniff it and never barked. Given how many strange things he saw at this event, he did exceptionally well! Stuff like guys climbing big trees at the Back tree services booth, 2 screaming kids in a double stroller going right by us, a display of blowing packing peanuts in a big clear box, LOTS of people of all shapes and sizes, waterfalls, things hanging and moving over head, strange statues at nose level, screeching microphones and who knows what else that he took in stride and I didn't notice.

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There was only one small patch of the carpet runners he was REALLY interested in and didn't want to leave, but everywhere else (same carpet, as well as different flooring surfaces) he ignored the floor. I told the people watching him that I didn't know what was so interesting in the carpet and probably didn't WANT to know! :-) There were several stains I didn't let him investigate, but he was pulling for them and I just waiting till he realized pulling wasn't getting him anything and he came back to me. I had to remind him a few times he was supposed to be with me (not whoever was walking in front of us), but I'd say 98% of the time he was by my side with a loose leash.

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Here's an Easter Theme photo.

Such an adorable face :-)

While his front legs aren't straight here, it's clear he's out of square again. His butt is higher than his shoulders. He grew a 1/2 inch last week though. He's now exactly 23" tall at the shoulders (7 mo. and 1 week old.) I wonder how much he will grow to "square up." Looks like at least an inch based on this photo :-)

Cobo Hall weekend

Very tired pup! But he did a great job raising funds for DSA.

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This past weekend was a very busy one!! Dazzle and I drove to Detroit on Friday and checked into our free room at the beautiful Ritz hotel. All of the staff was wonderful and welcoming the entire weekend. The Ritz Dearborn allows dogs and I highly recommend it if you need to be in that area!
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Saturday started early and we went to Cobo Hall in downtown Detroit for a HUGE dog show where we were in the Dog Scouts of America booth to help raise funds for DSA and tell people about the organization. Dazzle did great with all the crowds, noises and commotion. Our booth was right under the track for the "People Mover" (a rail system to get people around downtown, like a small train.) It sounded like a plane flying over about to land on the roof when one went past! He never even reacted to it. We rode it on Sunday, more about that below. The first thing we did after getting settled in, was to make a round of the vendors! I wanted to get that out of the way before I got too sore. Lots of great booths with plenty to see. We were stopped several times by people wanting to meet Dazzle and inquire about his breed. He was soaking up the love :-)

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Doing the whole body wiggle while meeting some kids:

Back in the booth, he played/wrestled with a few of the other dogs there. Then he put his training from earlier in the week to good use. He raised over $50, mostly $1 at a time! Joanne and Jill took some short video of him working for me:

I was borrowing Lonnie's wheelchair because it was the most comfortable chair and it kept me off my feet, thus saving my knees/back/neck from feeling worse than they did by the end of the weekend. Dazzle wore his Dog Scout uniform on Saturday but Sunday, when the video and photos were taken, he refused to wear it so I let him work "naked" :-)

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Saturday night, we ate at Frisch's but it was REALLY cold in there. Even Dazzle, who was laying on the cold tile floor with 2 other service dogs, was shivering. But everyone at the table was having fun catching up on what has been happening since we last got together. LOTS of laughs and fun. I put my coat over him to try to warm him up a bit and once he realized it was warmer, he laid back down and went to sleep. I cranked up the heat when I got back in the van for our ride home though! That evening we had a board meeting for DSA in my room and Dazzle mostly slept in his crate while the other dogs (other than 1 young border collie) were crashed out around the room. :-)

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He is starting to feel his age/hormones though. He growled a couple of times at the other dogs that got too close to "his" water bowl (that wasn't really his, but he had just gotten a drink out of it) and in the hotel room when they got close to his crate. I'm hoping my reaction to his behavior will help put an end to that. I'm going to re-read the book called "Mine!" by Jean Donaldson though :-)

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After a short night of tossing and turning, Sunday was check-out day. I packed up all our stuff and loaded the van. Thank God for the cart that let me roll everything rather than have to carry it! Back at Cobo Hall, I dropped off our stuff in the booth and then went up to the people mover level to take Dazzle for a ride on that. He was a bit off balance at first with it's stops and starts, but then learned to balance himself. He was taking treats a bit hard, but other than that, there were no signs of stress. He was looking around, tail and ears were up and he was just sniffing whenever the doors opened at the various stops. I was very pleased with his comfort with such a strange experience for him. It was just like a train with the track clicking sounds, screetching of the tracks (very loud at times) and the feeling of it's movement. We rode the whole loop around downtown and back to Cobo Hall.

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After a trip outside, we went back to the booth to start more fundraising and promotion of DSA. Dazzle raised a total of $183 during the weekend! A great start toward his Community Service badge. He did get rather worn out though and took a nap in a tent Lonnie brought as a prop. It was way too small for him, but he seemed to really love it. I had brought his large rectangle crate made of the same super lightweight material and style, but he wanted to be in the small square tent :-)

I enjoyed watching the Malinois working in the next ring for the Michigan Search and Rescue team. They had a big set-up to demo their dogs abilities. Dazzle spent some time watching them too, but was able to focus on me when I needed him to do so.

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Things that really distracted him were balls being bounced by people going by the booth (someone was selling tennis balls the size of a basket ball!) and when some of the other people in our booth were working on retrieve training in the booth behind us. I had to ask them to stop so Dazzle could continue to take money. There was also, near the end, a child about 10 years old that ran up to him in a way that every footfall was slapping against the concrete floor. That spooked him and he didn't trust that kid. He did bark at him a couple times too. I had the kid give him several treats on a flat hand and had him drop his dollar donation on the floor instead because Dazzle wouldn't take it from his hand. He was fine with the kid's brother and all other kids after that though. So I think it was an isolated incident. There were other times when I thought he might react (various sounds or actions) and he took them completely in stride! So I think he did a fantastic job with such long days in a crazy environment!

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I drove back home Sunday night, but had to stop and take a short nap a few times. I hadn't slept well in the hotel and was quite tired and sore from the activities all weekend. Dazzle slept the whole 5 hours home and was ready to play by the time we got there. I checked my email for anything urgent then went to bed.

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This morning I took him and Buster in for their Chiropractic adjustments. Both did well, though Dazzle was very wiggly and gave the vet a workout :-) He's 47 pounds now. He did need the adjustment, so I'll continue with them every couple months at least till he's finished growing, then we'll see how he's doing and how often he needs adjusted. The vet said his jaw and head needed a good bit of adjustment. I figure it's because of all the ball flattening he does and all the high speed retrieves he does when I throw the ball across the yard.

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I had been waiting for his new harness to arrive before I left on Friday, but ended up leaving before it arrived because I wanted to get to Detroit at a decent hour. I did get some photos of him in his new harness today though. I colored the grass again and sent the photo to the company where I bought it. Who knows, maybe he can be an example for their website! It's a really nice "V" front harness called a Yurkiw named after the officer that designed it for tracking/protection. I like it for a service harness and the company put heavy-duty velcro on the back of the patches they sell so I could add them to the harness. I originally ordered a Med. size, but it was too big and I returned it for the small he's wearing. I also think I need to loosen the strap between his legs so the chest piece can be a bit higher.

7 months old today!

Dazzle is now 7 months old! Time is already flying by with him. It doesn't seem like all that long ago that I brought him home as just a little pup. Now he's almost 47 lbs. and 22.5" tall.

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Today he got a bath because we are going to be staying at the Ritz this weekend! Free room (the only way I could afford the Ritz!) for a big dog show where we will be helping to represent Dog Scouts of America. Big thanks to Martha for making the right connections for the rooms for all of us! Because of the bath, he looks more "fuzzy" than usual. But the photos in this post were taken before his bath. :-)

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We went to a local park to get some posed photos. It was a light drizzle when I started, but by the time I snapped the one on the log that I liked, it was raining. So I didn't get nearly as many photos/locations as I had planned. Also, while it started out nice, bright, filtered sunshine, it got gloomy pretty fast. So we came home. I did spend some time talking with (and educating) a couple about Dazzle, reward based training, finding a good breeder (or rescue dog) and the Malinois breed after they saw me posing him for the first photo. So that was a nice chat.

Yesterday, I had planned to teach him to smack a target with his foot, but somehow it turned into teaching him to push a small ball with his nose. :-) Once he understood what I wanted, he was really sending the ball flying across the room with a flick of his nose. I think I found another trick he really likes! He would push the ball then stand there watching it with his tail wagging. Today I taught him "are you tired?" which means he should lay flat on his side. We also spent some time practicing the "get the money in the bucket" trick with real money and taking it from my hand instead of the floor. At first it confused him when I handed it to him because so far he has only gotten stuff to deliver TO my hand. But he figured it out pretty quick and was back on track. It will be interesting to see how he does with this at the show. I'm taking my camera, so hopefully I'll have photos/video to share.

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Tonight we have Rally class. Then I need to finish packing. I'm hoping the snow/sleet predicted for the morning won't cause us any problems or delays.

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Not sure if I'll have time to get to a computer during the trip, but if not, I'll post about our adventures when we get back!

Quick update

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Yesterday, instead of attending the show prep class in the evening, Dazzle and I went to the training center when no one else was there. It was quite nice! We worked for about an hour total on several behaviors with LOTS of play time. I started working on putting the reward outside the ring, asking for short behaviors, then clicking and letting him run to get the reward (ball or tug toy.) I realized in working him that somehow eye contact has dissapeared from his heeling. So I started working on the eye contact game and then a few steps of heeling with eye contact to get his reward. I think it will come back pretty quickly.
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I also pulled out the tunnel and he raced through it a few times, even in a U shape. I can't bend the tunnel I use at home because it's meant to be an upright tube used as a barrier for paint ball games. But it's VERY sturdy and the right size, so it has worked well so far to teach the tunnel behavior. I also pulled out the wobble board and had him walking across that to get his toy. The first time across he didn't expect it to move and did a flying leap off of it (It's only about 4" high.) But after that, he knew it would move and was fine.
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Overall a great training session. I just wish the center was less than 30 minutes away! I mostly want to use it to practice the parts of a formal obedience routine and freestyle. I need the ring gates and open space for those things.
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Tonight we have a C-wags class.

Pro photos from 2-8-09

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I checked my post office box and found the disk I had ordered after the Rally trial in Hamilton on Feb. 8th. I'm VERY happy with the photos by Dick Clark Photography! Here's some of my favorites:

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Focus at the start:

Nice front position!:

Malinois smile- a bit fuzzy, but you get the idea:

First turn was a 270 degree:

Directly into a 360 turn:

Nice focus through the serpentine:

More grinning- actually he's probably thinking- throw the ball...throw the ball... throw the ball... (which he thought I had in my right hand):

Sit for the last sign (you can see he looks like a coiled spring, he's still convinced I have a tennis ball in my right hand that I'm about to throw for him. He did get the ball as soon as I left the ring though!):

He maintained great focus throughout the run. To see the video, click on the date set on the left that starts with Feb. 8th:

Scent training

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I got his training so far for scent work on video today. I did it in 4 steps, but it's just a small sampling of the steps I've done with him. I worked on each step longer than what is shown on each video.
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If you want to teach your dog to indicate a particular scent, you'll first need to pick a scent. It could be something as simple as a spice from your spice drawer, but if you want a useful behavior, you might choose fake drug scent (if you can get it) or gun powder I as I used (never know when it might come in handy to have the dog locate a hidden gun!) Other possible scents are termites or bed bugs or even diluted gasoline (for arson detection.) You can also get some scratch and sniff cards from the gas company with the mercaptain scent on them (the harmless chemical used to add "odor" to natural gas.)
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Next you need to decide what "indicator behavior" you want the dog to do. What do you want him to do when he finds the scent so YOU know he found the scent. For drugs and bugs, the dogs often do an active alert on the hiding spot (scratching, barking, biting, etc.) If you are teaching your dog to find explosives or a gas leak or evidence of arson, you probably want a passive alert (sit or down while looking at the target area) so they don't blow themselves up or destroy evidence. During tracking, I'll teach Dazzle to indicate a found article with a down, but for the gun powder I chose a nose bump as the indication behavior I want.
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Step 1 video: The first step shown in the video is simple targeting of the scent on a piece of paper towel in my hand. At first you click for contact with the scent, but then you would add in the indication behavior if you aren't using a nose touch. I think I could get Dazzle to do an active alert very easily, but I don't want him tearing up my stuff if I hide the scent in the house! So it would be
a) sniff the scent
b) get the dog to do the indication behavior
c) then click
You want the scent to BE the cue to the dog to do the indication behavior of your choice.
Then I add some discrimination (not shown on the video) where I hold the scented paper towel and an unscented paper towel and only click if he targets the scented one.
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Step 2 video: Next I put the the pieces of paper towel into separate containers. I'm using pill bottles because that's what I used to create the scent wheel (shown in step 3.) At first I repeat the targeting of the single container (not shown on the video.) Then progress to offering a scented container and an unscented container (which is what I'm showing on the video.) I would click him for indicating in some way when I started, but I've progressed in the video to waiting for multiple touches of the correct container.
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Step 3 video: In the next video, you see the containers attached to the scent wheel I made. Each container (pill bottle) has a hole drilled into the bottom (which is now the top) so scent can come through. Only a single container is scented with the gun powder paper towel. But additional scents could be added to the other containers that you want the dog to ignore (food, bits of tennis ball, etc.) I have seen scent wheels made from coffee cans as well, so a whole tennis ball or maybe the dog's favorite toy would fit in that. Often, a toy the dog can play with as a reward is used as the target object and put in a container with the target scent so it takes on that smell. I think I'll do that with a tennis ball and the gun powder for future hiding spots. I plan to use an older tennis ball that doesn't have as strong a scent as a new ball would. Though I would guess I need to start using real guns at some point since they will have other odors besides just gun powder, like cleaning solvents and burnt powder residue.
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Not shown on the video is the introduction of the search cue. I'm using "find the gun" as the cue. I introduced it when he was still working on the scent wheel after I knew I could predict that he was about to get the right bottle, then I started giving the cue earlier and earlier. Then I used it when I did some easy searches (when it was easy for him to SEE the "hidden" container.)
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Step 4 video: This video shows one of his searches. We are just now starting with the scent object being hidden. While I hadn't intended it this time, I think he found it by sight, but it is still good practice.
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I think he's on his way. I'm doing this mainly as an intro to tracking (and training for his scent discrimination badge :-). I just want to give him the concept that I might ask him to find something by using only his nose. I don't know if we're to that point yet with the hidden objects though. I'll likely also teach him to indicate a natural gas odor (mercaptain) and do a passive alert for that.
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On a weather note, we got more snow today and it's still falling, but only about an inch has accumulated. I have to go out tomorrow at some point to get the dogs more food so I'm hoping the road crews keep on top of it so the roads aren't bad.
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Is it Spring yet?

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Today started in the low 40's really early this morning and then the temps took a nose dive. By the time I woke up, the yard was covered in white and great big snow flakes were falling.
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I'm REALLY looking forward to spring, but I don't think Dazzle will be. He was just outside taking a nap stretched out in the snow! We have a dog door so he can be inside if he chooses. He was SO excited this morning when he saw snow outside that he went out and was running around the yard biting and barking at the big falling snow flakes while I was preparing the dog's meals. He came back in just as I was ready to set his bowl down :-)
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He spent more time OUTSIDE today than inside. I think he shoved his big blue ball over every part of the yard. I knew he was still doing ok out there whenever I heard it hitting the house or door :-) He would come in from time to time (covered in snow) to thaw out (or check to see if I would go out with him) and then went right back out. I spent a lot of time today just watching him (from inside) and enjoying his antics and pure joy and fun out there.
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The other dogs would go out now and then to join him and play, but they didn't want to stay out nearly as long as he did :-) I think he is really going to miss the cold. I can envision him spending a lot of time playing in the pool to stay cool during the warmer months that are hopefully coming soon!
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He saw the neighbor outside today and boy oh boy does Dazzle have a deep, menacing bark! No idea what he would do if the neighbor came closer, but I have a feeling he would be defensive of the yard. It could be an issue in the summer when the neighbor teases the dog with his tractor as he mows the grass. Coyote and Buster both go ballistic at the fence and I often have to either call them in and block their access to the outside or make sure they hop in the pool to cool off so they don't overheat. It is the only thing that will stop coyote mid meal. If he hears that tractor, he will leave his food to go out and bark at it! For those that don't know him, that is unheard of for him! If Dazzle is out there with them, there could be some re-directed aggression. I have a feeling I'll have to do more management this summer.
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On Thursday in class, a person in the next ring was tossing and squeaking a toy for her dog. Dazzle decided he wanted it and from a stand still, he popped right over the ring gate to go get it. Thankfully I held his leash so he didn't get far at all, and he hopped back over just as effortlessly when I called him. I don't let him jump if I can help it, but he sure has beautiful grace when he does jump! Hopefully he never learns to jump our 6' perimeter fence!
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Title plaque

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I ordered this beautiful title plaque from RapidPins.com (Rapid Rainbow Designs) and it came in the mail today. They include a magnet with the dog's name and have title "pins" (they can be made as pins or magnets) for most of the different venues and dog activities. She's working on UKC rally pins at the moment. I think the plaque is very reasonably priced at at $3.50 each for the title magnets, can't hardly beat it! So far, I got him a 2009 (so I can keep track of the year he earned titles, I'll get a year magnet each January), a CGC and an RN.

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Because these are all magnets (along with his name plate) I can arrange them however I like. The photo just slips in the frame, so that can get changed anytime. It can be either vertical or horizontal. I'm VERY pleased with this item! I first saw them at the Hamilton Dog Training club when I was showing there. They have two walls full of them from their members. I think what I heard was that the owner buys the plaque and the club pays for all the dog's pins for titles they have earned.

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So this is what his "corner" looks like so far:

Today I worked on some scent training with him. I'm using gun powder because I have it available and who knows when it might be helpful to have him be able to find a hidden gun! LOL

I started with just a nose target to a scented piece of paper towel in my hand.

Then I held an unscented piece in one hand and the scented one in the other hand. I only clicked when he nosed the scented one. I switched them from hand to hand and held them in several different positions.

Then I put the towels into the containers and held out the scented one with an empty one. I switched those around in my hand as well.

Then I attached the containers to a home made "scent wheel" so I could vary the location of the target scent just by spinning the "wheel" around. I checked the colors of tape I used to be sure they were the same "tone" by scanning them and then turning the picture into a "grey scale" and found they all looked alike. I used a few different colors so just in case the colors were recognizable by the dog as different, he wouldn't be able to pick out the ONE that is green which indicates the scented container. With Dazzle and my other dogs, it's clear they aren't using the colors to select the tubes.

Once the scent was on the wheel, I could vary it's location just by turning the board.

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Near the end of the session, it "clicked" in his brain what I wanted and then it was clear he was being very deliberate with his checking and selection. I have chosen a "nose bump" as his indication signal. When I was teaching this to my beagle, I found it helpful for him to clearly indicate where something was hidden rather than just doing a sit because some of the areas where things were hidden had a lot of potential hiding places. Having him put his nose on the target and leave it there really helped!

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Now I have to get going to rally class!

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Fundraising Training

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Yesterday I spent about a half an hour teaching Dazzle to do the fundraising trick I have taught my other dogs. They will take a dollar (or $5 or $10 :-) from a person and drop it in a bucket/bowl. To see them in action at Bass Pro raising funds for the local disaster response team for animals, view this YouTube video I made last year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bee17QsDGPg
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As you can see, they enjoy their "jobs" and have raised thousands of dollars for various organizations and projects like the disaster team, search and rescue dogs, providing bullet proof vests to local police K-9's and our Dog Scout troop.
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The first video starts with targeting a crumpled, fake dollar bill. After he targets it a few times with his nose, I start tossing it and clicking him for touching it. He offers picking it up on his own. I used fake money because it's normal for the dog to occasionally tear the money during practice (and sometimes even when they are good at the behavior.) I crumple it in a ball at first to reduce the chances that it will get torn and to make it easier for the dog to pick it up. As you'll see in later videos, when it's less crumpled, he tears the bill a few times.
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I did edit the video to remove the barking dog distraction, cat distraction and when I jiggled the camera trying to move it, nearly knocking it over. But other than that, I included everything he did in the following videos from start to finish.
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Dazzle had the advantage of watching Coyote cleaning up his toys (putting them in the toy bin) and helping me pick up various things I had dropped, and Dazzle enjoys retrieving toys and other objects, so if you try this with your dog, it might take longer.
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I stayed mostly silent and you can hear the clicks and what I say on the video. The gate you see part of was up to protect the video camera and block access to the toy box, but I don't think I really needed it.

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Video 2 was after a very short break and it is just over 8 minutes long so it might take some time to load. In this video I introduce the bowl. I use a bowl with as wide an opening as possible to give the dog the best chance possible. At first he seems to get some lucky shots, but I don't know! If he tries to remove a bill from the bowl, it gets no click. Tearing a bill also gets no click and I simply remove the pieces and start again with a new bill. Funny note: when I'm out with Bear and Coyote doing a fundraiser, Bear will sometimes take money out of Coyote's bowl when Coyote's not looking and put it in his own bowl! LOL

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Video 3 is only 2 minutes and is filmed after a short break. In this one, I start using a new bill for each retrieve (as will be the case in a real fundraiser.) The bills are a bit less crumpled. There are a few times he is clearly deliberate in his placing of the bill in the bowl. There have been several times when he checks the bowl for the bill right from the start. When I started using different bills and leaving previously retrieved bills in the bowl, he got a bit confused. It's like he was saying "but there is already a bill IN the bowl!" or maybe he thought he hit the bowl.
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Video 4 is the last one of the training session and is only about a minute and a half long. I start with the bowl where it had been, but then move it farther away from me and to the side. For most dogs, this is a big change and a difficult step. Dazzle just took it in stride and we ended on a positive note. The entire session from start to finish used 1 cup of kibble and lasted less than 1/2 an hour.
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From here, I'll start working with real money, having him get it from other people and practicing in different locations. I'll do this by starting with the level of behavior he is doing well and working him up to the level I want to work on.
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4th Rally Nov. Q

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Today was an extra run that I used to practice some new things. We earned a 94, so I'm happy with the run, but I'll need to do some work before we enter a higher level. The first thing I tried was to ONLY hold my leash in my right hand. I tied 2 knots in it near the handle to shorten it a bit and to be sure I didn't shorten it further during our run. This seemed to work well and I'll likely do more practice with this. My left hand was still going back without my knowing it through the serpentine, but since I didn't have the leash in that hand, it didn't really matter. :-)
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The other thing I tried (which we have done in practice) is to let him see that I set his reward outside the ring (on his crate.) On all of our previous runs, he was thinking it was hiding in my right hand. Since the change in leash holding would make that ruse obvious, I decided to try it this way instead. He was DEFINITELY more distractible, but not overly so. Even when a little Pom did a fast recall in the next ring and he lost complete focus, he was willing to quickly come back and continue working. He was forging ahead a bit, but he wasn't wrapped around me and in my path the way he was when he thought the ball was in my right hand.
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It was clear at the end that he understood the big "yes!" I gave him when we finished because he raced out of the ring and directly to his crate to get his ball. LOL So I think with a bit more practice, this can be perfected. Now that I can practice in a ring at the club just about any time I want, I'll be able to work on this more and return the precision the ball generates without having to hide from him the fact that it's not in my hand. I'll also include putting the leash back on as part of the exercise before he gets to go for the reward.
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Here's the video:

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Overall I couldn't be happier with his performance this weekend! It was a VERY distracting environment, brand new to him, and he had to do a lot of waiting around (which he really doesn't like.) But bully sticks helped him relieve his frustration with pent up energy and not being able to play with the other dogs and he actually took a few naps in his crate dispite all the hustle and bustle around us. So I was very happy with that too!
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I found out there is a UKC Rally show nearby at the end of the month which I'd really love to enter him in since they are offering "4 shows" during the weekend and he could get another title in that venue. But I may be going to MI for the massive Detroit Kennel Club show at Cobo Hall to help "meet and greet" with him in the Dog Scout booth. It's currently still up in the air which I will be doing and I'm waiting on the answer to a question I have about the Detroit show that will help decide where I'll be.
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Rally Novice Title Earned!

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Just got back from the show and edited the video (below). Dazzle did a FABULOUS job, only losing a single point for a crooked sit. His HANDLER however, cost us 4 additional points because I couldn't seem to leave the leash loose. ARG! Still, I am very pleased with our 95 and thrilled with his performance!
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Scores were high today, so 95 wasn't enough to get a placement ribbon, but the green qualifing ribbon is all we needed!! This is his third qualifing run, so he earned his Rally Novice title today! We're still going back tomorrow because it will be his 3 highest scores that will go on record. If we can earn more than 85 points, it will be worth the trip. Of course it will be a learning/practice experience and worth it regardless of our score :-)
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I'm going to try borrowing a 4' leash tomorrow so I don't have to have the leash in both hands. I even entered the ring trying to concentrate on my tendancy to pull the leash behind me for no apparent reason, but I have no idea I'm even doing it. So it's hard to overcome. I thought I had done a good job of not doing the leash pulling till I got out of the ring and was told I did it several times. DRAT! I'm going to try to keep my leash hand glued to my hip tomorrow and hopefully that will help. Dazzle wasn't even getting ahead of me when I was pulling it behind me, so I'm not sure why I'm even doing it. Oh well, what fun would it be if I had nothing to work on? LOL
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Another nice thing is that I was able to get him tested with an AKC evaluator at the show for his Star Puppy Title and his CGC (Canine Good Citizen.) His CGC will need to be taken again after he is a year old to keep that title though.
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So he is now:
Loup Noir Jasper, DSA, BA, RN, Star Puppy, CGC (in the order earned)
A good start for just over 6 months old!
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Here's the video:

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P.S. As of the membership meeting last night, I was voted in (with several others) as a member of Kuliga dog training club.

FIRST PLACE! Score of 99!

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Out of 100 possible points, Dazzle got 99! He also got first place out of 6 dogs! The green ribbon above signifies that the run qualified and of course the blue is for 1st place! I am SO thrilled! Unfortunately, the ribbons given at this show are no where nearly as nice as the ones at smaller shows, but I did also win $10 for the first place :-)

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Especially because we got there too early (I was expecting traffic and parking to take a lot longer than it did given the fact it was a weekday and the show is huge!) And because the ring was running over an hour late. So we went and did some shopping in the other building to kill some time and keep him busy. I was glad I had brought in his crate though. By the time we were finally getting to the course walk-through, he was in it taking a nap. I was also glad I had attached it to a crate dolly so I could wheel it from the van because we had to park in "East Bajeezuz"!

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I pulled him out of the crate and warmed him up probably one run too early, but it was hard to judge because they had a lot of "move-ups" of the conformation people and even ran some of the Novice B's before finishing the A's. But obviously it all worked out and he performed GREAT! Once again I had him thinking I had his ball in my right hand, so you'll see him crouch in anticipation of having the ball thrown when I do the sit at the back of the ring :-) His sits were straight, so no risk of needing to "fix" them and getting points off :-) And we practiced a lot of downs during the week, so that was fixed too. I could NOT be any happier with his performance! It's clear from his wagging tail and grin that he's enjoying it and THAT is the primary objective!

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We will go back again tomorrow (and Sunday) to compete, but first I have a training club meeting tonight where, as long as no one objects, I'll become a full member of the club and get a key to the building. Then I can start working on freestyle and formal obedience to try to help him have as much fun with that as he's having with Rally. If he gets his Rally Novice title this weekend, there's not much else I can pursue with him because all the higher levels have jumps. Since I can't and won't jump him till he's over 1 yr old, we'll work on the freestyle for fun. Who knows, maybe I'll actually get a routine together and submit it by video for a title in freestyle. :-) We will also be working on behaviors for the C-Wags trial in April, but not much new to learn for that.

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Here's the video straight from the camera:

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Quick update

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At 6.5 months old, Dazzle is 22" tall and 44.6 pounds (according to the scale at the petfood store.) I took some photos today of him with his favorite ball. I colored the grass (which is actually about the same color as Dazzle.) I am using the photo as my desktop photo on my computer because it reminds me that maybe, hopefully someday soon, the grass really WILL be green!

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Now I'm off to bed because I'm getting up early to go to Indy for the Rally with Dazzle. Wish us luck!

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1st Rally Q!!!!

Dazzle did FANTASTIC at the show today! Apparently I need more work, but HE did great! LOL His score was an 85 (out of 100 possible points), but 10 of those points were deducted because I had him adjust his sit after he went to heel position. If I had left him crooked, it would have only been 1 point off. Live and learn! He didn't want to lie down at one of the signs, so that was the other 5 points off, though he eventually did down. If I hadn't adjusted his sit, he would have had a 95 and second place.

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Instead he got 4th place out of 7 Novice A dogs and I'm pleased as punch!! We had fun today and that was the goal. One of the dogs, a little Pom, got a 99! Kim ran the video camera for me and other than some zoom issues, did a great job. Thanks Kim! She also filmed the awards, but I just trimmed it to show our award. :-) I know I have the wrong date on the intro, but I realized it after I had finished it and didn't want to bother with re-doing the whole thing to correct it. It's only 1 day off, so close enough :-)

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I did not, however, spend the night prior to the show as I had planned. About 10pm Coyote went after Dazzle for starting to play with Buster, or maybe he was near a Nylabone, I'm not completely sure. It was over pretty quick and Dazzle was mostly just trying to get away from Coyote (a good sign that he's gotten some respect for him) BUT Dazzle did end up with a puncture on his face. I was SO mad and upset. Coyote was put in a crate and I took Dazzle to the ER. Rather than shaving his face and making it completely obvious with a stitch or two, the vet was able to flush it out and use tissue glue to close it. It had been staying closed, so there wasn't much force working against the glue and it has worked perfectly. After that was done, you couldn't even tell there was an injury. However, by the time we got home it was starting to swell (that's when I took the photo below.) I held ice in a towel on it for awhile, but he does resemble a bit of a hampster with one cheek full at the moment. Poor guy. He never once, even right after it happened, bothered the wound.

As a result, Coyote is going into the crate right before I come home (an exciting time for the dogs) and when Dazzle starts playing with Bear or Buster or any other time of high excitement. I'm praising him when he chooses not to act stupid, but if he looks at Dazzle wrong, I interupt and either a muzzle goes on or he goes in a crate. Dazzle has a LOT more respect for Coyote and is giving him a wide berth, so I think as long as Coyote is managed, they will be fine. I don't think the injury was due to a hard bite or on purpose, I think it was just a tooth hitting thinner skin. But it didn't even bleed. He's on antibiotics till next Saturday.

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On a lighter note, here's video of the boys playing in the snow set to music (a 5th of Beethoven and Axel F.) It was taken on Tuesday and Wednesday. Hard to believe this was just earlier this week. It was in the 50's today and yesterday, so almost all but the deepest snow is gone- YEA!!! I wish it would STAY warmer, but since it's only Feb., I'm guessing that won't happen. :-( They are predicting a "winter mix" for Friday when I need to drive to Indy for that show. Maybe I will be getting a room in Indy after all? Hopefully I don't need to do that.

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Visited the show today

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Although I had him entered for Obedience, I didn't compete with him today. We just went to find the show location and get acclimated in prep for tomorrow's rally show. It's a nice place and I hope he will do well tomorrow, but fun is the top priority. I'm looking forward to it!
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His hormones are starting to kick in and he has gotten into fights with Coyote three times now. Thankfully they both have excellent bite inhibition so no injuries (other than a very small puncture on Coyote- likely caused when we were trying to pull them off each other.) Problem is that once they latch on, neither wants to let go. It takes both of us to get them apart. I have no doubt this will resolve itself and maybe it has. Today, they started posturing, but stopped immediately when I yelled at them to "knock it off!" However, I ordered another "softie muzzle" just in case. If they both have to wear muzzles for awhile, then that's what will happen. For the most part, it's not an issue between them. But if excitement levels are high or if Dazzle is playing roughly with Buster or Bear, it takes very little to ignite.
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At least with plenty of warning signals, I can stop things before they start and reward them for good behavior choices (ignoring, looking away, shake offs, etc.) We went through this with Coyote and Bear too. And now those two are fine with each other. Coyote easily won fights with Bear even though BEAR didn't want to stop fighting, so it might be a bit different outcome with the bigger, younger Dazzle. We shall see.
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Stay tuned for a report from the Rally show tomorrow!
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Misc. photos

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I cleared off my camera card this morining and wanted to add a few photos I took.

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First is a photo from the ice storm on Jan 28th. We had a few inches of snow, then about 1/2" of freezing rain, then several more inches of snow. The rain melted some of the snow that was under it and on the driveway we ended up with nearly an inch of ice!

Dazzle didn't care that it was dark and snowing, he not only wanted to go out, he wanted US to go out with him to play!

Buster had been outside in the snow and came in to see why Dazzle wasn't out there. Buster's back is all black. The white specks are the snowflakes he brought in.This is a photo I took on the day he turned 6 mo old. (Jan. 29th) It's hard to judge his height though because I think his front feet were through the layer of ice and the ball wasn't.

Here's some funny photos. I bought this bed when he first arrived as a little pup. He really likes it and STILL tries to sleep in it each night. LOL

He doesn't quite fit, but doesn't seem to mind. :-)

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Conformation award photo

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I braved the blowing snow and icy wind to walk to the mailbox, since we are once again snowed in. The drifts in some places are over 10" deep on the driveway and the road. It is still snowing with about 4-5 more inches expected by this evening. Winds up to 20 mph are expected to continue as well with steadily dropping temps.

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But it was worth the trip (thankfully no falls) because the 8x10 award photo was waiting for me (as I thought it might be.) I'll frame this and hang his medals on the frame.

Intermediate class was cancelled again, as was the hair cut appointment we tried last week (when the snow/ice hit) and today. Eventually, maybe in the spring at this rate, we will get that last intermediate class done and get our hair cut :-) Next Tuesday we start a C-wags class at 7pm (with the last intermediate at 8pm) if it doesn't snow/ice again.

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Conformation photos

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Today I recieved a few of the photos I ordered from the conformation show last weekend. These are just scans of the 4x6 photos I ordered, so the quality isn't as good as the originals. I'm still waiting on the larger, posed portrait with the judges and medals we took sunday after the show. I plan to mat and frame that photo and hang his medals on it since it's his very first awards :-)

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This one is pretty cool because all 4 of his feet are off the ground!

We were turning a corner, but this is a decent trot. Because he was turning, his shoulders look lower than his butt:

He crawled up in my lap to watch the dogs in the ring behind us. I think he learned a few things because he did a much better job in the ring after he watched the other dogs! He still thinks he's little, but he's quite a lap full now!

Other than the Freestyle seminar on Saturday, we have kind of been taking a break from daily training since about Tuesday because I have been trying to get caught up on so many other things. I did, however, order a really nice working harness for him which arrived the other day. It's sized for his future adult build, so right now, it's a bit too large for him to use. But I have done a few different sessions in which I reward him for putting his head into it and for wearing it loosely. We also have done a few sessions with the crate games. But that's about it.

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Tonight (well yesterday, since once again it's past midnight :-) we had an advanced class. We worked on reminding the dogs to ignore distractions on the floor (everything from food to toys set around the ring) and then went through a rally course I set up. Since rally is my main focus right now, I'm going to set up a course each week during this class to practice on (probably separate from the advanced class.) I should be able to get a key to the building at the end of the week (or early next week) and then I can work there on whatever I want when it's conveinient. I think that will really help his obedience, rally and freestyle training! I'll be able to use play as a reward without having to worry about how distracting it is for other dogs. We will still take classes to practice around other dogs, but the private sessions will be for polishing known behaviors and learning new things.

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Today we attended a 3 hour meeting for Dog Fest and he was content to quietly chew on a bully stick for most of that time till he took a nap. We did some grocery shopping on the way home too. It's nice not having to worry about getting back home (thanks to the above freezing temps and sun) I was able to clear two tire tracks up the hill on our driveway. The whole top part is still ice, but because it's pretty flat, I haven't had any problems after I get past the little hill. They FINALLY plowed the ice off the road last night after we had a day above freezing that helped melt it a bit. So now there is more road visible than ice, which is a good thing! Of course more snow is predicted for tomorrow and temps well below freezing - oh joy.

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