Day of Play!

Kids enjoyed a nice retreat outside today, it was pretty warm. Wore them out at the park, Shayla nearly went into heat stroke playing ball!! Next we took a trip to a park with a small lake type thing so they could cool off. SNAP! had never been to a dog park before today OR been swimming, he had a blast! Sneak can be a bit weird around new people and dogs but did VERY well at the dog park and only got freaked out when a strange man tried to take pictures of them swimming, she raised her front end out of the water and roared some big dog barks at him...LOL! Enjoy!!

Scary....but amazing

I had the most scary thing happen to me just an hour ago. I let my dogs outside to potty after I got off the treadmill and then I went to the bathroom myself. I heard a strange noise so I went to back door and my eldest BC, Shayla and my youngest BC, SNAP! ran inside.....none of the other 5 dogs came in. I looked outside and saw that the section of fence my husband had recently repaired had fallen down in the wind, pressumably that was the noise I hear. I paniced, ran inside and grabbed a flashlight. I began running throgh my street and alleys calling for my dogs. When I didn't hear them I called my husband at his Super Bowl party and 3 friends to start a search party. I stopped every neighbor asking if they had seen dogs and created a perimeter of where they could be, as I was heading back to the house for a jacket and to meet a friend (I was in jogging clothes and it was 50 degrees and windy!) I saw my husband's weiner dog dart across a yard at a full run. I called him but he seemed scared and kept running away. I turned off the flashlight, got on the ground and he ran to me. I showered him with praise and ran to the house. I was greeted by my friend and her daughter as well as....Saavy my oldest male BC. He was sitting on the front porch in a sit stay, just like I taught him to do. When I let my dogs out of the car I tell them "Go to the house" and they run to the porch and sit. I started crying hysterically. My friends took the dogs inside we began searching for Sneak, Stewart and Savannah. I went two blocks overwhere I heard dogs barking and found Sneak and Stewart fence fighting, once they heard my voice the bolted to me and sat. I showered them with praise and my friends took them inside to give them treats. I was growing more and more concerned I hadn't found my 6lb yorkie. She has horrible seperation anxiety and freaks out when she is away from me so it was weitrd she wasn'tcoming. I began to fear she had been picked up by a stranger or hit by a car. After walking down an alley 3 blocks over I heard a rustle behind trash cans. I softy whispered her name and she came screaming to me, something had scared her so bad she was hiding in the alley behind trash cans.

Moral of the story is I have NEVER called any of these dogs to me and punished them nor did I yell so when they heard me they associated the recall with a pleasant memory and ran willingly. Without a doubt I know the only reason all 7 dogs are safe in my arms right now is I practice positive recalls all the time and have built good relationships with them, even my husbands two dogs who I have never done formal training with. SIGH! If thats not a good enough motivator for people to practice positive recalls NO MATTER WHAT I don't know what is! Never call your dog to you for punsihment or something they dont like, always reward recalls and never punish them if they run off and then come back...or you may never see them again!

I can't thank my husband, borther-in-law, and friends; Emily, Deborah, Haley and Kristal enough for willingly dropping what they were doing and running to my aid at 9pm at night during the Super Bowl. You all are AWESOME! We are very blessed tonight!

SNAP! at 4 months

I have included a video of baby SNAP! working on his open chute, spins in either direction, sit stay, down stay, backing up, nose taps on his target lid, sitting up (beg), 2o2o on a box and general cuteness. He is doing very well, I would like for him to be a more active shaper though so we will probbaly be playing games like 101 things to do with a box or don't click for the same trick (I click for him to offer any new behaviors). He has also added shake but I forgot to have him show it off. I am also trying to build his toy and tug drive. He tugs great in some spots but outside I have to click him to encourage it. We also started working on hs retrieve with a squeaky ball. Hope to get that on video when he gets better.

2x2 Weave Training Shayla Session 4

We have finally moved to 2 sets of poles and Shayla did so well!!! I did another session with her (not taped) and she was thinking it through and working some pretty extreme entries, she would circle and go through only one set and then quickly correct herself. I LOVE this method!!!! It's so easy! Im moving her to the next phase, rotating the two sets. My only downfall was I got lazy and did not make sure she wasn't come back through the weaves.

2X2 Weave Training Saavy Session 3

Worked Saavy with two poles at 8 and 2'o clock. he seemed distracted and would not really finish a retrieve at the end so I was running to the toy and then tugging it. I worked with him again twice later, once with a toy and once with food and he was much more motivated so we will go to 2 sets of poles next session. He seems to really drive inside with one toy but outside did better with food.
I'm going to work his retrieve seperately to keep him motivated and making less work for me!!

2X2 Weave Poles Shayla Session 3

Worked with Shayla a little more with just 2 poles, moving around the arc. She did well, she really seems to be enjoying this method.

Sneak's Extra Credit Trick

We do trick contests in Sneak's beginning agility classes and this last round she won. Her first trick was to push a ball through a set of goals and do a victory jump, second trick was I had Saavy do a down stay and Sneak distracted him by jumping around barking and tuggin on his leash while he remained in a stay position and this last winning trick was a beginning freestyle dance. here's the video, it was FREEZING this night and very windy. If you turn up the volume you can hear her turn on the CD player and the music play while she danced. She gets so excited!!

Eraine and Sneak

2X2 Weaves Sessions Two

1/1/09
Shayla is driving to the poles so hard I couldn't continue to work her on the un-weighted PVC poles, she was knocking them down. I switched to the stick in the ground and rotated them to 8 and 2 o'clock. Then we worked entries all around the arc. Two funny things happend, at 3:40 I seem to be doing a dance, but really Im just trying to get the rock out of my clogs! Then at 4:50 I throw the tug and it lands on Shayla's head. She's doing well so we will stay here for a while until she is getting the reward line 100%



Saavy seemed to do well..I switched toys though so I could aim better and we could tug better. You can see his hesitation at the beginning so I babied him and walked to the toy. I think my over zealousness and shreaks of joy scared him so I will try and just shut up...let him work next time! He is very happy still about weaving. At 1:10 I click and he runs around the poles, I let him get the toy but I did not tug, bad trainer!



My session with Sneak lasted much too long. Forgot that you can't hear the kithen timer outside! = ) She seems to understand the concept that her reward is in the bait bag. I weighed the bag down with a tennis ball and stuffed it full of Bil Jac, this seemed to improve my aim. I was able to get further away from the poles this session.