Dog Log

Session 2+

2012-01-26T20:48:00.004-06:00

Monday I had another training session with my new coach. She brought a newer method to work on Quinn's issues. B.A.T. --Behavioral Adjustment Training, written about by Grisha Stewart a trainer out of Seattle.

My trainer brought her 13 year old Aussie bitch to use as a 'decoy' dog. Basically, Quinn and I would move closer to her (while she was in a down-stay), when he noticed her, I stopped. As soon as he looked away, I marked the behavior and ran back to the 'starting point'. We did it several times and she moved her Aussie to a couple of new locations, overall I really like how it's progressing.

I've always felt that using food with Quinn added a bit of guarding behavior. I don't know if that's just my fear or if it's reality, but I like this method because you don't start off using food. It makes him work to control himself to earn the ability to move away from the decoy, instead of working for food where he might easily eat the food then explode on the decoy anyway.

Tuesday, I had a friend bring her Corgi and she did a sit-stay and a down-stay with her dog while Quinn and I worked. We've trained in the same ring before, so Quinn's familiar with her dog. He had no reactivity at all.

Tonight, I took him back to the training building and another trainer was there with her Golden. I asked if she'd do a Down-Stay with him, while I worked with Quinn. He did pretty well. He did react once (I moved too close, too fast). I didn't want to inconvenience the other trainer too much, so after several minutes, I put Quinn back into the car. I was pleased that he didn't seem stressed when I took him back to the car.

Petco again!

2012-01-17T12:01:00.001-06:00

Yesterday afternoon we once again I tried Petco. I don't know if it's because Quinn has bad associations with the place, but he was really wound up. It wasn't hugely busy, there were maybe two dogs in the whole store. He started barking as soon as we pulled into the lot. He saw a GSD being walked out of the store and lost it.
I just spent time with him in the crate (door open) and used the clicker, clicking for calm behavior and just letting hang out in his crate.I pulled him out of the crate and he was happy calm while he pottied, but as soon as we got into the store he barked at a store clerk, at Alicia with Sage (her puppy, who's currently living at my house while Alicia's pet/house-sitting).
I did get him to calm down a little, but he was on alert the whole time we were in the store. There were a couple of kids with a small white dog running around. He was focused on the boy when he saw him, but only barked at the little girl with the dog. He's never been comfortable around children, so I'm okay with his behavior at this point.
The worst reaction he had was as we left the store. A woman with a large black mix of some sort was getting out of her car as we approached my car. Quinn began barking, I corrected him, but it didn't help he continued to bark. Her dog was on a flat buckle collar and started to drag her over to Quinn. I just grabbed Quinn by the scruff and turned him away, he didn't stop barking, but the woman was able to get the other dog back under control and they went into the store. As soon as the dog was out of sight, Quinn calmed down. At that point I just crated him.Overall better than the last time we went to Petco, not as good as he's done at Petsmart or the club.

Quinn at the club

2012-01-11T20:26:00.003-06:00

I took Quinn to the Greater Lincoln Obedience Club building. There was an Agility Fundamentals class and a Good Dog Level 1 class so there were plenty of dogs present.
He was barking when we pulled into the parking lot, but I waited him out and made him stay in the crate (door open) until he calmed down.
We then walked around a bit and let him potty if needed. When another trainer drove in we moved to the street. She had her very calm Border Collie with her and Quinn barked maybe once, but quickly calmed down.
We went into the building and he initially barked a couple of times, I corrected him and started rewarding him for being calm. I moved in to the office door several times and moved so he could see the other dogs in the building and again rewarded for calm behavior and then moved back into the office.
At one point another trainer brought her dogs towards the office. She came up on us quickly and Quinn began getting very upset. I asked her to wait for a minute in the doorway, then I calmed him down and moved him to the back of the office. He did very well, he didn't bark at them as they came close and left the building. He knows her dog, but on-leash in the building is very different from off leash in my backyard.
Overall I think he had a good session. I'm working up to being in the ring next to a beginning class or agility class. I don't think he'll ever be able to handle a Flyball class.

Day 2, Petco

2012-01-07T12:45:00.002-06:00

My trainer gave me homework. It was to go to PetsMart and spend 10 minutes just walking around the store. No shopping, focus only on Quinn and interrupt or correct his bad behavior and reward the good. She also suggested I find a smaller class at the obedience club and get him either into the class or take him into the building--I'll work on that later!
Today I decided to take him to Petco, it's the same isn't it?
Apparently not. PetsMart on Friday is very very different from Petco on a Saturday. Quinn was over the top. When we first started in, he was fine. We got just inside the doors and he spotted the rescue booth. It wasn't the two Italian Greyhounds there to be adopted that make him bark, but the little Schipperke that was dancing around while the owners talked to the rescue people.
At that point, correcting him did not work. I just turned and got out of the entry-way. I should have turned around and left.
I worked on rewarding him and trying to stay as far away from the Schipperke and his people as possible. We were there about 5 minutes and had worked our way back to the grooming area. He barked a bit over the dog barking in the grooming room, but soon calmed down. We moved away to the Aquatics dept. He was nervous at first, but calmed quickly. We did a couple of pivots and were admired by a Dad and his daughter buying fish. As we moved back toward the door, I knew we'd have to pass the rescue booth. I moved up to the end of an aisle near the booth and we worked on not growling or barking at the Iggies (that he now decided needed to be barked at). When he calmed down I moved away and back up the next aisle, closer to the door and the booth.
We were almost even with the booth when the Schipperke and his people came down the main aisle, back to show off his new coat to the rescue people. Quinn once again went over the top. We moved back by the ferrets because I couldn't get him to calm down at all. Once the Schipperke was out of sight, he calmed down pretty quickly (he didn't care about the ferrets at all).
As soon as the Shipperke and his people left, we got the heck out of there. I now know, do not go to the store on a Saturday morning!

Quinn's Re-Training

2012-01-06T12:25:00.001-06:00

The last time I posted (Wow! Two years ago.) I mentioned Quinn was a little shy in PetsMart and had some issues with over-reacting around unfamiliar dogs. Though we've been in competitions and he earned his BN (Beginning Novice) title, we now have to go back and address his issues.
My goal is to earn his RE title and move on to more obedience (Novice, Open and Utility). So to actually succeed, he needs to learn to calm down around strange dogs.

The first and last time I tried to compete in Rally Excellent, he really went nuts over the Dachshund that was supposed to be working in the ring while he did his honoring. Luckily, we found this out before going into the ring. I pulled Quinn, not only did I not want him to practice the behavior, but I didn't want to mess up the other dogs chances.
The one thing I've learned is 'out of control' dogs push Quinn's buttons. The other thing I've learned is that many of the dogs in Rally are out of control. They don't really know how to heel and if their owners couldn't use fake lures, the dog would be gone. (Yes, I expect some will take exception to this, but I've seen a lot of dogs that shouldn't have qualified, get their titles-- Missy is one of them!)
So, I've decided to work with a trainer. Intellectually I know what to do. I've helped many other people with the same issues. But knowing and doing are two different things when it's my dog that's acting like a fool.
We met yesterday at PetsMart, he wasn't interested in meeting her at all (that's fine). So she and I talked a while, I told her his history and she watched us walk through PetsMart. I don't know if it was lucky or not, it was very quiet, not many dogs or people. After a while she told me what I was doing right and what I needed to work on. Yay!
One of the things I had thought I was doing wrong was corrected him when he went over the top and began barking. She told me to keep doing it. I had been moving back while correcting him, she told me that I shouldn't do that. Keep him in place until he calms down and make moving away a reward for calm behavior. Wow! Such a small thing, but it really makes sense.
She brought her dog in and we worked on getting him to just allow them to move around us. He did really well and as we left the store we walked out together. Quinn and her dog were about 4-6 foot apart, but Quinn was ignoring her dog!
I do have to admit, I put Quinn away, got into the car and cried.

Petsmart Training

2009-07-31T21:49:00.003-05:00

Okay, I admit, I like to go to Petsmart and Petco and train my dog. I like to shop there too, it's a win, win situation.
I took Quinn and Missy to Petsmart for a little training/shopping. I had two store clerks show interest in Quinn, since I usually am training we aren't often interrupted. It really hit home that he is scared of a lot of things. He's almost as shy as Jojo in new settings.
No wonder he sometimes freaks out at dog shows.
I've been thinking this may be hyper vigilance --looking for out of control dogs to bark at, is really part fear of out of control dogs and fear of the 'unknown.'
At one point he spotted an adorable Eskie getting a haircut in the groomer's window. He growled at it I gave a correction and I made him do a 30 second sit stay and 30 second down stay with the dog at his back. He did okay.
I then brought Missy into the store (because I wanted to buy some rawhide that was on sale) and she didn't 'see' or wouldn't acknowledge the 'doggie in the window'. She was a little friendlier with the store clerk, she doesn't care about people much. After meeting Missy the store clerk asked me: Have you ever considered training?
LOL
I didn't say that they both had obedience titles, just that I was training Missy for Agility.

Playing Catch Up!

2009-07-20T20:22:00.004-05:00

March 2009

Training is continuing for Quinn, but I haven't worked with Missy in a while.

Danny was diagnosed with Insulinoma, it's a type of pancreatic cancer that causes him to have chronically low blood sugar.The vet has given him 2 weeks to 8 months to live. I'm spending a lot of time with him and also have switched him to a low carb, raw diet. I'm hoping it will stabilize his blood sugar a little. He's now on Pred and Phenobarbital. I'm preparing to take Quinn into Rally Advanced this spring. He's doing very nicely.

May 2009

Quinn and I competed in RA at the Seward County Kennel Club Show at the end of April. We earned our first two legs with a 90 on Saturday and a 97 on Sunday. Sunday we earned first place. We've been practicing the jump, but I got a little nervous and instead of telling him to 'look' at the jump. I said 'Watch' which he did, as he ran right into it.The judge said later, he's never seen a dog run into a jump before, evidently he's never seen a dog who had good attention and trusted his handler. Quinn did the jump on the second try. I've been working a little with Missy in Agility and we went to an outdoor Agility trial in Omaha the first weekend in May. She left the ring all four times. I was afraid she might jump the very low ring gates, but she found little holes to run through. She didn't really quit working (though the judge whistled us off) she was just too full of energy.

I now have another Aussie named Ketch. He was returned to his breeder, because he was unable to herd cattle. He was then given to a family, who decided they didn't have time for him. He's about 18 month old, and looks like a Border Collie mix, though I have his AKC papers. He's never really been in a house. He's learned stairs and house training. The one major issue is he chases cats. I'm working with him, still not sure if I'm going to keep him or place him.

June 2009

I had planned on taking all the Aussies to Vermillion for the SVKC show and then camping afterwards, but I've been diagnosed with a stress fracture in my foot. So no hiking, I've sent my entries in so I'm going to go ahead and compete in Vermillion. On Saturday 6-20 Danny was having serious trouble standing, and he was vomiting pretty badly. I took him to the vet pretty sure that this was the end. They gave me hope and said it might be just a bacterial infection. Sunday morning he was still breathing, but unresponsive, I think he just had a series of small seizures all night and it was too much for him.

Rest In Peace, Danny!

Eatinrocks Sunshine Dancer RN CGC

2000-2009

July 2009

I took my sister, her Aussie, Ketch, Quinn and a friends Border Collie to the SVKC show in South Dakota. Quinn earned his final leg for his RA on Saturday 6-27 with a 95 and Second Place. He earned an insurance leg on Sunday with a 94 and Second place again.

My sister and her dog Lacey, earned their final two legs for their RA as well.

Overall it was a bittersweet weekend. I missed Danny very much.

December--already!

2008-12-08T17:52:00.002-06:00

Here we are another month gone by and I'm not posting frequently. Classes have ended at the obedience club, but I'm still assisting with a new instructor. I'm trying to teach Missy some tricks--my goal is to teach her several tricks (roll-over, shake, spin, etc) to distract people from trying to pet her. Until I've gotten her over her fear of strangers, I need to keep people from causing her to regress. Our stand stay is coming along. She's learning to allow me to come up to her and touch her on her back. Even my sisters cause her to 'melt' (lay down with ears pinned back). I've begun teaching her go outs and the glove exercise. Nothing really formal, just the basic ground work right now.
Quinn has learned to actually play with toys. I played fetch with him at the building with a rubber knot toy. He played with a plastic Frisbee at my house and at my sister's . This is a huge step, because always before he was too frightened of Danny to play with anything.

Not Bad, Just Enthusiastic!

2008-11-08T14:34:00.004-06:00

Well, I decided after Missy's fiasco at the agility trial, I need a little more control over her.

So I'm taking a Novice Ready class with her. I've always called her my 'bad dog' because she's just a little wild and out of control. I now have to rethink that. It seems she can really settle down and do some nice heeling. Her stays are terrible, she stands or comes to me at anything out of the ordinary. Obviously as confident as she appears, she needs to be more comfortable on long stays.

She has a great stand-stay, but the exam part causes her to melt into a white puddle on the floor. Right now I'm having people walk up to her and feed her on the stand or walk around her. I need to make sure she doesn't practice the melting behavior.

Her agility is improving, I can't see it, but my instructor says she is getting better.

Where has time gone? July Trials in Omaha

2008-10-18T15:37:00.003-05:00

Wow, I didn't realize how long it's been since I posted last!
Quinn earned his RN title at the Qwest Center in July. It was a huge show and he didn't do as well as he has in the past.
He was very upset when he saw Bazz, a Siberian Husky and a Doberman playing together before we went into the ring. He barked at them in an attempt to get them to stop. He was frightened of the row of small dogs in the grooming area barking every time a dog walked by their crates and I was caught unaware and didn't spend much time warming him up or getting his attention. We got a 93 because he spent the first 5 obstacles settling down and focusing on me.
Overall it could have been much worse. When we went into the ring with all the other qualifiers, he was NOT upset by the clapping or the other dogs in the ring. Back at Seward he was very upset by the 'uncontrolled' dogs in the ring with him.
I also entered Missy in Agility and handled my sister's Siberian in conformation and Papillon in Agility.
Missy went into the Novice Jumpers ring and because of poor handling on my part we got a wrong course.
When we went into the Novice Standard ring she did very well until we reached the chute. She ran in then came back out, I sent her in and she got to the fabric then backed out. I sent her again (3rd Refusal) and stood over the end calling her until she came out. The only thing I can figure is they were using small sandbags in the chute and she's never seen them before. Another thing to train for.
After she came out of the chute she basically had lost her mind and was not quite to zoomies, but certainly was not listening to me. When she blew past a jump and hit the A-frame in a wrong course I called her and we left the ring. For much of the rest of the weekend, she did better in Jumpers than Standard. Though she never left the ring, and she came to me when I called her. Obviously we weren't quite ready to compete.

Butt Work

2008-05-24T16:57:00.003-05:00

Quinn's butt not mine!
I haven't posted in a while, but I'm working with Quinn on getting him to move rear sideways (lateral movement) instead of just his front half.
Using Shirley's methods I'm working on teaching him to move his rear to a finger point and a verbal command. He's slowly getting the idea.
A method I'd been taught by Shirley then reinforced by Betty (a T-touch practitioner) I've been having Quinn walk through a ladder like object. In this case I've been using a set of 4 weave poles tipped on their side. It seems to be helping a little, though he was very frightened of them at first. This helps them to think about their body and learn that they have a rear end.
On Missy's training I've been working on teaching her tricks. I've practiced crawling, rolling over and 'begging'. She's gotten a little confused on nose touches versus, hitting something with her paw. I'll be working on that.

Quinn's big weekend

2008-04-27T18:30:00.002-05:00

I haven't posted in a while. At the beginning of April I decided to enter Quinn in the Rally trial in Seward, NE. Since then, I've been hard at work on heeling with Quinn. I discovered I had not taught him the go around finish and we needed to practice on that.
Yesterday was Quinn's first time ever in an obedience (Rally) competition. When I saw the map, I realized he would do okay on most of the exercises, but there was a finish right (oh, no!)
So I bought some liver bait--I had forgotten my freshly prepared chicken livers at home and we went to the parking lot to practice a few more times the dreaded 'go-round' finish.
My other big concern with Quinn is he's still somewhat reactive around other dogs. Mostly he barks and acts a fool around dogs that are out of control in his opinion. So using some of the liver bait, I lured him into the building and he did very well ignoring the other dogs and focusing on me. The worst part was there were a lot of Novice A people/dogs around and they did not seem to have their dogs under control at all. I had two people allow there dogs to just wander up to me and Quinn.
Just an FYI for all the Novice A people out there. Even if your dog is nice, not every one else will have a dog that likes to have other dogs in their faces.
We finally got into the ring and went through the exercises pretty quickly. I was happy with his performance. I knew we'd made a few mistakes, but he stayed focused and happy. I was even happier to discover we'd earned a 98 and second place. Alicia said we'd actually taking only 52 seconds to complete the course.
His two mistakes were, 1 point for 'interference' --which means he bumped me or I bumped him. And at one point, for one point, he got out of heel position. I took him outside during Novice A and we missed going in for our ribbons, I was a little disappointed with that.
But for a debut, I was very very pleased.
Today was better on the performance, not as good with overall control in the building. He growled and barked once outside the ring and I had to tell someone quite forcefully to keep their dog away from me and mine.
In the ring he was great! He focused on me and stayed in very good heel position most of the time. The very first sign was a sit and he sat wide. I don't know if I lost his attention or if I didn't give him the correct sit signal. Either way I need to practice that.
That was pretty much the only thing he did wrong. We were one of four teams to earn a 99. I was thrilled to learn we were the fastest team with 50 seconds. Not only did we get a very pretty blue ribbon, but a first place trophy as well. Overall, I don't really care about the placements, but I can't help but be happy when it happens.
The only downer was when we went in to get our ribbons Quinn was really conscious of the other dogs and had a lot of difficulty not lunging after any of them. I kept my hands on him and talked to him and moved him away several times. I also need to work on having people applaud--he did not like that either.

Door Training!

2008-04-13T22:15:00.003-05:00

Today I did some training with my dogs and a guest dog. I spent time teaching my dogs not to run out the door without permission.
I learned this technique from a very good trainer and friend, Shirley Chong.
The premise is you let the dog dash outside, (onlead) give them enough room to stand and think about what's happening, but not have any fun. Let them back in and tell them what a horrible experience they just had. If they control themselves, you Click and Treat them for hesitating, for sitting and for looking at you.
I did a refresher on Danny and started with 15 seconds, then doubled it to 30, then 1 minute. He then figured it out and didn't dash out the door. He's done this before, but I know he's had some chances to practice bad behavior in the recent past.
Missy was next, I've been somewhat afraid of trying this, she chews on leashes and I was concerned she might escape. I used a very thick nylon lead that belonged to my first dog, a GSD.
She didn't take long (just a minute) before she was sitting and waiting at the door.
Quinn was last, he took the longest at 2 minutes. I think being outside without me wasn't pleasant, he did whine and bark a few times, but he just couldn't resist dashing out that open door. Tomorrow we'll try the front door and then Tuesday go back to the side door.

Training at home

2008-04-10T21:47:00.000-05:00

I went to class last week, but this week I missed. I've been working with Quinn on stays, in particular distance rather than time. I also have worked a little on teaching him to move his butt to the left (his left). He has a nice move to the right, he'll move laterally with me, but he has a tendency to move too far to the right and has difficulty moving to the left. So we'll do that twice as much.
Missy is my demo dog for the new Intermediate class, I told the students that she needs the class as much, if not more than their dogs! In that class we're really focusing on distraction proofing and teaching the dogs to focus on the owner. Two of the dogs really don't seem to care if their owners are around. So we'll do a lot of recalls and work on responsible heeling.

April Fool's Stay

2008-04-01T19:30:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted recently, but I have been training.
At my last Novice Ready class, Quinn was still having a very difficult time holding his stay. He'd be able to last until I was 22' away then he usually broke and came to me.
So I wondered why 9 paces was the magic number? It seems my usual training area (my dining room and living room) only allows me to get about 22 feet away from him. So today I put him in the kitchen and walked to the other end of my house. He only broke once. I kept returning to him and feeding him. I didn't do any recalls, because I really need to get the stay/wait part solid before I add anything else.
Danny got sucked into the stay vortex and ended up doing stays with Quinn. Missy just ran around behind me. I realize I should have had her do stays also (hers are worse than the boys). But I'm recovering from a cold and didn't have the energy to deal with her today.
I read my most recent Front and Finish and there was an article on a different method to teach scent discrimination. I've always had difficulty teaching this exercise, because my dogs love to retrieve and really don't care too much about the scenting part. It uses Altoid tins, so now I need to go out and get 5 tins.
On March 24, I layed a track for Danny as soon as I got off work. It had just one turn, it was about 50 yards down the side of the parking lot in front of my workplace then a turn about 5 yards and then the glove. Danny's not always solid on turns, he does fringe, so I wanted some age on the track.
I went home changed clothes and went back. Danny started out great, unfortunately the area I started the track had stickers, so he kept having to stop so I could remove them (or he could chew them out). After we got through the bad stuff, he did very well. When we came to the corner, he barely casted around, almost immediately took the corner. He was doing great.

Quinn's progress

2008-03-14T19:06:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted in a few weeks, but I have trained! I'm still taking Quinn to the Novice Ready class when I don't work. This past week he was very barky when we went into the building. A member has several small dogs and they're very barky so Quinn really wanted to control them. I recently watched a Patricia McConnell DVD where she demonstrates a method of teaching the dog to look at another dog on command. If done correctly it teaches your dog that looking at another dog does not mean they must escalate their arousal or become reactive. They look at the other dog just as if it's any other behavior they can be rewarded for, i.e. sitting, shaking paw, etc. I began working on this behavior and realized I need to make sure that I teach this completely separate from any ring behaviors. I can't be rewarding him for looking at another dog when I cue it and then expecting perfect attention.
So I will be going to the club to work on one behavior at a time.
I was so proud of Quinn because he held his sit even though the out of control BC was right next to him. He was on a long line, but I was at the end of it. He did break on the down. He came to me (which I'm not upset over) when the OocBC broke his down and his owner corrected him sharply.
Overall Quinn did a very nice job. I just need to practice on his stays more (hmmm, that sounds familiar!)

A New Place

2008-02-24T23:07:00.000-06:00

Today I took Quinn to a fun match at a club in a nearby city. I dragged my sister with so I'd have company and a sympathetic ear on the trip home. We arrived early so we'd find crate space and be able to let Quinn just hang out for awhile. When Quinn first arrived Alicia brought him in with her dog. When her dog spotted some poodles in a crate by the door he began to bark, so Quinn had to try to protect 'the pack'. Alicia calmed him down and came on in. Overall moving around the building he did fine, no outbursts. He barked a little in the crate so we did cover it. Occasionally he growled, but did well there too.
On the On-lead heel he was very distracted and I actually stepped on him. He did very well on the figure 8, but he moved on the stand for exam. Part of it was the 'judge' was very hesitant about touching him.
He really wanted to be submissive and go to her. I had to remind him to stay and re-place him. He did actually get examined, with me very close to him. The heel off lead was better, he jumped on my on the fast (which I've just started working on seriously). His recall was short--half the ring, because there were a couple of dogs right by the ring gate and I just didn't trust him to keep his mind on the task. He waited quite nicely even with the judge behind him and I had her call the recall command twice and he held it nicely. When I did call him he raced to me and jumped on me. Since I'm not working on fronts, it was a good recall.
On the sit and down I stayed 6' away. He held them, but he did mutter and talk on the sit stay. As we left the ring, I didn't pay close enough attention and a dog got too close and he went off. I grabbed him and pulled him away--he didn't make any contact just noise. He's not ring ready, but he's coming along nicely.

Quinn's Novice Ready Class

2008-02-15T09:02:00.000-06:00

I've been taking Quinn to a Novice Ready class taught by another club member. I haven't been able to attend all the classes, (darn work!) but I've made most of them.
We did some heeling working on fast, where Quinn jumps at me a little; and we practiced our fronts and recalls. Then Robin had each of us do a Novice run through. Quinn got to go first, he did outstanding on heel on leash, and the figure 8, he did a good stand for exam. Stays have been our bugaboo, so I was thrilled he held his stand.
Heel off lead was fine, then we got to our recall. Again, that stay command really threw us off. He would get distracted the minute I got more than 10' away. I did get to do two recalls with him successfully, but obviously were not ready to go into the ring.

Quinn's class

2008-01-31T20:56:00.000-06:00

I took Quinn to class tonight. He hasn't been out in a while, and I didn't feel up to taking two dogs. Class started okay, he was heeling fine and I was calling class so we worked on attention around other dogs.

I was very pleased Lucy was there as well as Osa, two dogs Quinn feels are 'out of control'. He has a tendency to bark and growl at them.

We did stand for exams, and he did great, Georgette came over and touched him, he didn't move at all. A very good boy. I then had a gentleman watching hold his leash while I did exams for the other dogs. He did very well, and asked for some attention then just stood and watched me.

As class progressed, I started feeling ill. As my health went downhill, Quinn's behavior went downhill as well. Barking and growling, lunging at the dogs he felt were dangerous.

I had to sit down, I thought I was going to pass out. Quinn sat in front of me and just growled at anyone who came near. Obviously he knew something was wrong and he had to protect me. I put him out in the car and sat there until I felt better.

I'm very proud of Quinn and the fact he did so well in the beginning of the class.

Danny's Achievement

2008-01-30T18:45:00.000-06:00

I took Danny to the Drop in class at the Obedience Club and tried some Open exercises. Danny has issues with other dogs, so I'm very careful about him being near other dogs.
I began to teach him the Broad Jump exercise, one of the Open exercises I haven't ever tried to teach him. He did very well, I began with the three boards jammed up together and an Agility him over them. Had him jump that for a while, then opened the boards up to the distance required. After that I pulled the bar out of the Agility Jump then removed the uprights. When we go back this Thursday, I plan on keeping the boards at the distance required, but putting the Agility jump back.
After we practiced the broad jump another member asked to come into the ring to practice. Danny's met her dog and I thought it would be okay (and it was). I continued on and practiced Off Lead heeling and the Drop on Recall. We did retrieve on the flat--he had a nice clean pick up. When we did retrieve over the high, I realized I need to proof for the jump. He anticipated several times, then he went around the jump when the dumbbell went wide. I did not practice the stays (no point). Even if he never competes, I really enjoy training him. He's not Gita (my heart dog), but he's a damn good obedience dog.

A New Year

2008-01-20T14:15:00.000-06:00

Okay so it's been almost a full year since I last posted. The point of the blog was to keep me focused on my goals and to actually encourage me to train my dogs. Well I have been training my dogs, but I did get a little lost on the goal part, and I forgot to post to the blog!
The one goal I have acheived is Quinn is almost ready to go into the ring. I'm sending off his ILP application to the AKC today. He still is a little shaky on his stays, but he's doing much better and I hope to compete in the Seward County Kennel Club trial at the end of April.
Missy's goal of earning her NA and NAJ got sidetracked. I've still been working with her on Agility, but I postponed her Agility debut to get her RN instead. RN stands for Rally Novice title. It's an obedience title that kind of combines Agility and Obedience. I'm starting on retraining her weaves using the Susan Garrett 2x2 model.
Danny, my third dog (who I didn't have a goal for) actually earned his RN in July and I hope to get his TD in the next year.
Let's see if I can keep on track this year.

Stays!

2007-02-15T12:15:00.000-06:00

I've discovered my desperate need for a solid stay! I was struggling with Missy on her sit-stays (needed for tables and start-lines), and my training partner asked if she "stayed" at home. I realized though we practice stays at home, we don' t have nearly enough distractions. So I'm doing group stays with the dogs, instead of crating the non-working dogs. It's more difficult, but hopefully with more distraction we'll improve.
Missy's getting much better on her stay for food, but Quinn's begun to lie down instead of holding a sit.

Introduction

2007-02-13T15:44:00.000-06:00

My first post!
I've been dog training for almost 20 years now. I've always known keeping a log of my training goals and acheivements will help, but I've never actually done it. So here it is!
My goals this year: Train Quinn (my 7 month old Aussie) to a Novice obedience level. That means he can earn his CD as soon as he's ILP'd with AKC.
My second goal is to train Missy (my 16 month old Eskie) to a Novice agility level. Which means she will be able to earn her NA and NAJ this year.