Playdate with Apollo

Tonight, we had a playdate with Apollo and his mom. We both moved to the same neighborhood within about 2 weeks of each other, completely by coincidence. Anyway, since we moved in, we've been planning to get together for a playdate. We finally got the boys together and had we all had a great time. Apollo's mom has an awesome camera and is an even better photographer. She got some fun pics of Bailey:

Bailey loves running in his new yard. Apollo wasn't far behind.






And a portrait...

Swimming!

Justin and I went to Kings Dominion for the day on Saturday and left Bailey with some friends - Anne and Dieter. They live in a huge (confusing!) house nearby and have a pool in the back yard. Anne reported that Bailey had a fabulous time and wouldn't get out of the pool the entire weekend.

Rally-O and Novice Obedience: Class 2

Last night was obedience night again. We started with Rally. I'm beginning to think that Rally is really easy! We don't seem to be having much of a problem at all doing the courses and as long as you understand the signs, you shouldn't have a problem getting a title. Maybe I'm misunderstanding the whole thing, but it's so much less precise and say anything to your dog as often as you want! That makes it WAY easier than strict obedience. We started the class with a short discussion on different types and ways to turn. There are two 90* turns: left and right. There are three 180* turns: regular about turn (dog on outside), left about turn (dog on inside), and a third one called a German about turn where the dog does a regular about turn and the handler does a left about turn on the inside. The German turn was the only new one and it's much harder to describe than it is to do. There are two 270* turns: right and left. Important to note with 270* turns is that you end up going the opposite direction from the direction of the turn (270* right results in you going left. Finally, there are two 360* turns: right and left. These are easy because it's just a circle right and circle left.

We did two Rally courses this week. Neither was very complicated. One new sign that we got was the reverse of the 1 halt-2 halt-3 halt sign. It had the dog come front, then the handler steps backwards 1, 2, then 3 with the dog sitting at each halt. Turned out to be easier than I thought. She also combined the paperclip and the weave into a big cross of cones, so that was a bit confusing at first. I think one thing that will be most challenging for us is the stop and down (without sitting). I worked very hard to get automatic sits, so it's difficult to prevent him from sitting down first. Either way, we had a good time in Rally and I think it's just great fun! I think Bailey likes it better too.

Then we went to Novice Obedience. For once, I felt like my dog had a brain and some training! He did the heeling really well in the heat, and stood for exam like a perfect angel. He recalled and finished like a champ and his figure 8 was solid as usual. The only problem we had was about halfway through the sit, he went down. Booo! I blame it on the heat. It was so hot last night, that he actually stayed in the down stay for the whole 3 minutes, then some. Overall, I was very proud of my boy for doing such an awesome job. I secretly think it was because I told him I'd put him back in sub-novice if he didn't do a good job! :-)

Rally-O: Class 1

We started Rally-O classes this week with DGOTC. I've never done Rally-O, or even watched it so I went in having no idea what to expect at all. When we arrived, Penny had set up a course of signs (Right Turn, Left Turn, Serpentine, 270* Left and Right, Halt and Sit, Paperclip, etc). Penny explained a little bit about Rally, since only one or two of us in the class had ever done Rally before. She also went through explaining the course to us and what each of the signs mean. Next, we had the opportunity to walk the course (as a group). This was really helpful and sort of reminded me of agility. After we walked the course, we went one by one on the course to complete it. Bailey actually did a GREAT job. It's much easier because you can talk to the dog and encourage him the entire time. You can also repeat commands or use as many different commands as you need to get your dog to complete the exercise. Our hardest exercise is the 1 step, halt, 2 step, halt, 3 step, halt sign. We had been introduced to this exercise back in our Basic class and since then, I practice it to get Bailey's attention on me during walks. I think all that practice really helped, because he knew exactly how to do it on the first try! After everyone went, Penny changed out a few of the signs for new ones and we repeated the course again with the new signs. This course had a section where there were like 4 circling exercises in a row (paperclip, come front and finish right, 360* left, and 270* right), so we got a little bit dizzy! It was a lot of fun and made me feel really confident in my dog's training levels!

Eric also told me that I need to sign up for Novice Obedience again and wouldn't really take no for an answer. I couldn't stay on Thursday night because I had WAY too many boxes to pack before Friday morning, but I told him I'd start the following week. So starting next week, we take 4+ hours of dog classes every week! Whew!

Agility Foundation II and II: Class 1

I'm a bit late posting this entry (and I've back dated it so that it shows up in correct sequential order). We had class last Monday and it was great. We are actually taking two classes at ACA this quarter and they are back-to-back. We left the house at 6:30 pm and didn't get home until almost 11! And Bailey was so wiped out, he barely made it to the dinner bowl after class.

Foundation I: We worked on some jump sequences, which Bailey did a great job at. We didn't do any fancy crosses or anything, but just focused on teaching the dogs to jump and turn at the same time. It was just tiny little speed bump jumps, but Bailey was quick and took direction like a charm! We also did some board work, which Bailey is getting better and better at. I have to practice doing board work while I move around and from a distance. I also have to focus on rewarding him straight in front, instead of to the side. Rewarding him to the side causes him to twist his spine, which can potentially cause damage. I don't think we did too much in this class, but it is a small class so we get lots of individual attention. For the first time, we actually ended class with time to spare.

Foundation II: For this class, we started on the weaves. They set up 4 sets of channel weaves (HAVE to buy a set... they are so great!). Bailey does WAM and channel weaves already and he does them with a pretty small gap in between. I narrowed the poles down and he did a great job. After a little while, we switched to a new set of weaves so the dogs would get exposure to all different kinds of equipment. Then Claudia had us do backchaining on the dog walk. Backchaining is the process of teaching the end behavior (2O2O) separately from the dog walk so that we can really reinforce the position. Bailey does pretty well with backchaining. Then we went all the way over the dog walk. He always gets just a bit too much speed to slow down and get the target on the end. He tried really hard though! I could see him attempting to put on the brakes as he came down the ramp, but it just didn't work. He ended up only overshooting the end of the ramp by about 2 feet. Next, we went to the a-frame. Claudia had us do some backchaining on the a-frame as well. Bailey did pretty well, so she had us run over it. To my surprise, Bailey got over it with a decent amount of speed AND managed to hit his target and stay in 2O2O position! We tried it one more time and he repeated the behavior! Yeah! Teeter was another free station. There was no motion in the teeter yet, but I think we start with some motion in the teeter soon. As other people were practicing the other exercises, we did more weaves. This time, I added a jump before the weaves. He did the jump and made the weave entrance no problem. Smart puppy! I think he really likes the weaves. Finally, we went back to the a-frame. We tried to go up and over again and this time, Bailey couldn't make the contacts to save his life. It was a little frustrating, but after 2+ hours of class, I sort of expected it. It's clear we have to work on building his hindquarter muscles so he can learn to rely on his hindquarters when coming down the a-frame and dog walk.

July 4th Weekend

Pics from the long holiday weekend:

We took Bailey up to the ski slope to run around for a bit. I left his leash on at first, but it was pretty wet and muddy and the grass was about 1 foot tall.


I tried to get him to practice obedience a bit, but he was too focused on playing ball and visiting with all our friends.


He came home wet and dirty, but he had a great time!


Unfortunately, when we took B swimming on Sunday, the camera battery died just as we got out there. No pics. Boooooo!

All in all, a fabulous time was had by all and we brought home a very tired puppy!

My Dog Lives Here

My dog and I live in this house. You are welcome to come and visit me anytime but we have a few things that you must understand before you visit.

You must expect a few dog hairs to stick to your clothes. I vacuum and clean every day but a dog lives in this house too.

You may be licked and given a paw a few times but he does this because he loves people and wants to say hello, so if you feel that you are too good for his love then you are not welcome here because this is his home too.

My dog is well mannered and very clean but if you are one of those people who think all animals are dirty and smell then go away. You are not the type of person that I care to associate with.

If you don't like the sound of barking, then my home is not going to be a comfortable place for you to visit. My dog protects me by letting me know I have a visitor. Whether it be a friend or uninvited stranger. If you are a friend, my dog will consider you his friend too but if you are an unwelcome guest, my dog will protect me with his life as I would his.

Do not expect me to lock my dog in another room during your visit. I have trained my dog well so he will not do anything to you except maybe want a pat on the head. I will not subject him to feel as if he is being punished by locking him away for no reason. That would just be cruel.

When you walk in my home, be careful not to trip on a squeaky toy or a bone. These are my dog's little treasures and I will not take them away from him just to show you that I keep a clean house. He knows where all his toys are. They may not look like much to you, but to him, they are worth more than gold.

You see, This is OUR home. We have been together since he was a small pup scampering around the house, a tiny bit of a thing only a few weeks old. I raised him into a well mannered, beautifully behaved dog. I am proud of him.

I consider him my personal gift from God. He has done nothing but give me his endless love and devotion for many years. I love him dearly and want to make his years happy ones. As happy as he makes mine.

When you go home to your family, he stays here with me. A fine and loving companion. He is MY family and I wouldn't change that for the world. When times were hard, we both went hungry. When it was cold and there was no heat, we both kept each warm. When I was sick, he stayed right by my side as I did his when he was not having a good day.

A better friend I could not ask for. When no one else cared, my dog did. He has given me nothing but pure joy and I love him endlessly.

So please understand that I am not being rude. I'm just looking out for my best friend.