Fronts and Finishes

I know it's been 25 years, but I don't remember fronts and finishes being so hard to perfect! I have really been concentrating on them and Remy finally seems to have the finish close to perfection, but the fronts still have a way to go. I am seeing progress, so I'm still dreaming of showing this spring.
Debbie and her 5 dogs were late, so Remy and I worked hard before she came and then he got a reward session with his frisbee. Once Debbie came, we worked a bit again, but mostly I helped Debbie with her dogs. Remy held his stand pretty well even when Debbie went over him as thoroughly as a conformation judge. Good progress since Remy LOVES Debbie.
I also have been working on out of sight sits and downs. Remy now holds for 10 seconds. I'm very pleased with that and will continue working up to longer times.
I forgot his dumbell at home, so I worked on it when we got home. Debbie and I talked about the fact that her Sheltie was very soft like Remy. Instead of an ear pinch, she used a twisted collar behind the ears. I might try that since I don't use a chain collar and most of the time I train on a buckle collar. If that doesn't work, I'm quite sure my fingernail will be plenty of correction for the Remster.
I do want to start more open work soon since Novice is getting quite boring. With the challenge of the open work, we can still work on fronts and finishes and heeling.
Tonight is my last class of Advanced, so Debbie, Barb and I will train before class begins. Remy will hardly believe that we are working 2 days in a row!

Time to Dream

It's good to have a Terv like Tacara's Denali Dream. Our dreams are big as a mountain, and we are going to keep climbing!

The Denali Dream and I are dreaming big for our upcoming shows. There are no other class bitches, and there are lots of class dogs. There are also two bitch specials. Our dream is to show our hearts out so that our judge will consider splitting the points -- or at least question why s/he wouldn't.

That dream is the synopsis of our lesson with Karen on Sunday, which focused on conformation instead of obedience. Karen hadn't worked with Dreamer and me on conformation since April, when I had decided to enter some May shows and exhibit my dog for the first time on my own. Karen gave me some great basic instruction back then and set the foundation for my conformation ring experience with Dreamer. It wasn't pretty in the beginning, but at least Karen made me feel like I knew what I was getting myself into!

On Sunday, when I told Karen I needed a trick to get Dreamer to straighten up her rear when being backed into a stack (she likes to turn it to my left when I'm facing her, which drives me insane!), Karen started at the very beginning. She wanted to see the full picture to determine how far we'd come and what we really needed to work on.

The bright side: We've come a long way! Karen could really see a difference in my handling of Dreamer, but even more of a maturity difference in Dreamer herself!

The dark side: Dreamer is the devil. I never know what I'm taking into the ring, and I think that freaks me out. I start to panic when my dog turns into a wild pony. There are times when you can't teach a wild pony new tricks.

Karen worked with us on a lot of things to see how we could really show Dreamer off when there are no other bitches in the ring. She said we have to do extra training tricks to show off the expression and personality to compete with professional handlers and more experienced/mature dogs. Karen really believes that you can compete against these challenges when you show the judge how well your dog is trained and how much drive it has. She reminds me often that there are a lot of dogs being dragged around the ring. They have no personality. Since Dreamer is so unTervlike, in a good way, we need to show that off. After all, what judge in their right mind wouldn't look more closely at a happy herding dog with drive vs. a flat, slow dog with no personality but tons of coat? A judge who picks coat over instinct and personality should be unable to sleep at night.

Here's a synopsis of our problem areas and how we worked on them:

• Entering the ring: I lose Dreamer pretty quickly when we go into the ring, though I didn't really think about that until Karen asked what it's like when we first go in. Karen suggested putting the bait right in front of Dreamer's nose with my left hand, holding the leash in my right hand, and just having Dreamer follow the bait while walking her into the ring. It worked like a charm! It also helped me keep Dreamer's rear straight because I walked her to the imaginary start place, with her following the bait, and I told her to wait. Then I stepped in front of her, held the bait with both hands near her nose, and backed her into her free stack. This also worked well at conformation drop-in class when we practiced it there last night.
• Down and back: Karen said I was moving Dreamer too fast. I need to take longer, slower strides than I do on the all-the-way-around. (I never knew that, so I'm glad she pointed it out.) When we are coming back and looking at the judge to see if s/he is going to bait, here are some tricks that Karen suggested, and that we worked on: (1) If the judge is baiting the dog, I need to use our obedience and just stop Dreamer facing the judge, let her free stack, and tell her to Wait. (It's like a stand-stay, basically.) Then she'll know to look at the judge instead of me. That worked well. (2) If the judge is not baiting the dog, what works really well with Dreamer is to put the bait right in front of her nose once we get to where we want to stop in front of the judge, say her name, and then lift the treat up and away while making a quarter turn to get Dreamer to face me and be at an angle (not parallel, but a slight angle) to the judge. What Dreamer does, in the meantime, is HOP like the most adorable Terv you've ever seen in your life and land in a pretty good free stack. (Our goal eventually will be for her to nail that stack every time.) Then, very quickly, I tell her to wait, I walk to the end of a loose leash, and I wave the treat low to arch her neck and really show off her expression and ears while completely taking myself out of the picture. It takes some fiddling around to see how to best show off your dog, but this is what works best with Dreamer because she's interested, focused on me, and excited about the constant motion/action.
• General handler movement/position: Karen told me that I wasn't watching the judge's whereabouts enough, which is true. I am way too worried about what the wild pony is doing, so I don't pay enough attention to the judge. She said I really need to make sure I'm out of Dreamer's way when the judge comes up behind us because I'm blocking her right now. When I move to her side, I need to do so immediately rather than stand in front. The judge needs to see her front immediately and be able to scope her out while approaching her. It's a little thing and is pretty obvious, but it's just something I don't think about. Karen also told me that I shouldn't "hang" Dreamer up with the leash. All she could see was the leash, and she said it was distracting. She handled Dreamer a little bit at our lesson so that I could see what I was doing vs. what she wanted me to do. Dreamer doesn't need to be hung up, so we concentrated on keeping the leash loose and low in my left hand. When we're moving, I likewise need to keep the leash loose. I think I used to keep Dreamer strung up because I couldn't keep her still or under control otherwise, but I think she's actually better now. I guess we'll find out this weekend!

At conformation drop-in class last night, some lady used a high-pitched silly voice to say, "Ears!" to her dog. She was trying to get her dog to put his ears up. She sounded like a cartoon character, and Dreamer was fascinated every time she said that! I think we'll try some new sounds in the ring (that's brave, huh?) and see what happens. I do try to say various words and phrases in exciting ways to keep Dreamer's attention, and that's a trick I've always liked. I'll ask, "Do you want to work?" Or "Do you want to eat?" (which is funny because she doesn't like to eat yet always cocks her head when I ask!). When we got our first point, I managed to get Dreamer the Wild Pony to cock her head the second the judge looked at her, and it was just way too cute. We must use these things to our advantage. After all, the one good thing about conformation is that we can talk to our dogs in the ring. Let's use what we've got!

Now if you'll excuse me, I must go focus on this mountain that Denali Dream and I will climb all weekend. Wish us luck and ALWAYS keep the Dream alive!

Thanksgiving Shows

We dreamed big: 3 majors in 3 days. We came away with 3 blue ribbons and a purple and white. I have to admit, the competition was fierce. Big entries and a lot of older dogs. Remy was right in there, but just not mature enough yet for this set of judges. Dang! But it was good quality time with friends and my best friend, Mr. Remy. It was also great time away from the exhausting puppy raising of the Pilot. Plus I got to watch agility. Debbie even had me come down into the ring with her to do the walk-through. That was fun! She taught me as we went. It was a thrill to watch her and Annie do the actual run and score the points we mapped out in the FAST class. She ended up taking 3rd place. I really look forward to showing in agility. All the people and dogs were having so much more fun than the conformation people! Even the judge applauded good rounds.
I have to get it out of my mind that I need to finish Remy's championship before I do other things with him.
Tomorrow's another day. Hopefully I'll wake up on the sunny side of my mind.

Giving Thanks

Dreamer and I have a lot to be thankful for, just in time for Thanksgiving!

Lynn, I hope you're reading this because our thanks starts with you. THANK YOU for doing the hunting and gathering of the littermate owners so that we could all be in touch, hear and compare stories about our wonderful dogs, share tips and advice, and form new friendships along the way.

I'm also thankful to have such a great Terv in my life. Dreamer had big paws to fill, and while her paws are much smaller in size than the Terv who came before her, I couldn't have asked for a better Terv to take me into the next chapter of my life. I have Linda to thank for that, and I try to thank her as often as I can for the wonderful, funny, smart, beautiful (in a cute sort of way), and good-natured Dreamer.

Never in a million years did I think I'd ever train a dog with treats, but I'm thankful that I opened my mind and sought out a great trainer like Karen to help me see just how much better it is for the dog. I shudder to wonder how I might have broken Dreamer's beautiful spirit if I'd gone down the popping/yanking path I learned and used for close to 30 years. Things have definitely changed for the better in my dog training world. A big thanks to Nancy for suggesting this training blog. I'm not sure I would've been as diligent with my training if I didn't have an accountability partner!

Lastly, I'm thankful for great weather this week and a little time off to train my Tacara Terv. Maybe I'll train her with turkey pieces tomorrow! I'm sure she would work hard for that. Or maybe we'll just take Thanksgiving off. Now that is something to be thankful for!

Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Tacara Terv Trainers and their wonderful Tervs!

Return of the Wild Pony

Dreamer and I had a busy Saturday. This morning, she got her distemper vaccination at the vet and was a big hit with dogs in the waiting room as well as with the staff. She's very popular at the vet, which is good because I don't want her to be nervous when we go there; it needs to remain a positive experience for her.

On the way home from the vet, we stopped at the pet store to get more dog food that Dreamer probably won't eat, as well as training bait and other supplies. Once again, Dreamer was a hit and received lots of ooohs and ahhhs from customers and cashiers alike.

A bit later, we were off to conformation drop-in class. The December shows are quickly approaching, and we need the most practice we can get. Dreamer had a blast at class and was Angel Dog through most of it. She stacked beautifully, stood still for her exams, and moved on auto pilot; I was just along for the ride. At the end of class, however, my little angel showed her devil side. The instructor started clapping when we all ran around, and Dreamer became the wild pony. She was galloping, barking, hopping around, and just plain losing her pea brain.

The instructor, who had been very impressed with Dreamer throughout class, yelled, "OH, FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!" She asked a few people to stay after class and help us work through it. I think Dreamer has learned how to follow other dogs, but when you add the clapping, she definitely loses it. She's always been turned on by clapping. We started running a few of the handlers and dogs around while other classmates just stood aside and clapped, and the wild pony only got wilder. The instructor told me to give Dreamer a hard pop, which I did, and Dreamer responded with a heartbreaking "roo-roo-roooooo" and sad eyes that made me feel very guilty for putting her wild butt in place. I think the correction was too hard and probably wasn't what we needed at that particular moment. Dreamer responds so well to voice corrections that I'm not sure what I was thinking by popping her. The pop only made her pea brain smaller, I think. I will figure out how best to correct her. Somebody at class suggested getting an applause CD and playing it when we train, but I don't think that will work long term. We need to practice in grocery store parking lots where we can get a few people to clap for a few minutes here and there. Ugh. It's always something in dog training, right?

Mom Time

The Remster has been a bit jealous of all the attention Pilot is getting. I can't say that I blame him. So he was absolutely delighted to be taken to his favorite place in the world last night: my dog club...alone....no puppy. He was delighted to see his friend Jesse, but he quickly ignored her and settled right down to work. I had forgotten to bring his nylon choke and Barb offered me her choke chain, but I passed. We can't rip out that hair now, can we? So I trained on his flat buckle collar. She couldn't believe I could do that! I told her that unless there was a cat, it really didn't make a difference. Our dogs are so soft:)
Remy blew my socks off. He heeled like he has never heeled before. He never left the proper heel position. It didn't hit me until this morning, but he never forged! His figure 8 was to die for! Barb (usually so negative, remember?) commented that he was way ahead of Jesse and that his sits are perfect....her word exactly: perfect! He held his stand for exam even though Barb went over him thoroughly. She even said she loved the way he "pops" into his stand position. Off lead he was even better than on lead! He wanted to work! I began to have big dreams about beating Koda and Donna at the National...bad me:)
The recall was terrific until the end when he swung his butt wide. But he had a smile on his face so my "correction" was merely to back up and coo "Get it in" which worked like a charm. He ignored the finish command as usual. Our goal this week is to do 10 finishes a day until he knows it cold.
We gave Remy and Jesse a huge reward and let them run and run and run until class started.
Class went so well! Several people went up to the training director and told her what a great class it is and how much fun they are having. I'm very pleased with that because I'm having fun also. Plus, I get all my classes free as well as get to use the club for free anytime I need to train. It's so great to have Barb as an assistant because she notices different things than I do.
Life is good:)

Alcohol and Progress

What a difference a day can make. On Saturday, after discovering that conformation drop-in class was cancelled, I decided to work on obedience with Dreamer. We'd had some very consistent, solid training sessions and had made lots of steady progress on heeling, sit-waits, and the dumbbell. However, Saturday was a completely different story. It was like I had a completely different dog at the end of the leash. Dreamer was totally out to lunch! I tried EVERYTHING to get her attention, but she was very lackluster, uninterested, and spaced out. I wondered and worried that maybe she was going into season (secretly panicking that she was regressing!), and I decided to just hang her up -- something I've never had to do with her. I felt very discouraged, especially with our obedience lesson looming the next morning.

I went to happy hour with my Terv friends that evening, and then it's like everything changed. Ah...alcohol. I got up on Sunday to find that the old Dreamer was back. She was engaged, happy, and smart as an honors student. She really brought her A game to our lesson, and Karen was really pleased. We showed Karen how solid the sit-waits are, and we even showed her how we worked ahead on the recall (and she didn't even scold me for working ahead this time!). The sit-waits and recall are definitely strengths for Dreamer, and even her tucked sits are becoming a non-issue. Ah, alcohol and progress! It's been a long road. We started working on fronts in our lesson, and those are going to be interesting with the stubborn Dreamer, but we will work through the resistance. Dreamer does not want to sit in front of me. She wants to run around and chase leaves! She'll learn. Leaf it up to me to solve this problem.

I didn't work with Dreamer on Monday night. I was incredibly exhausted from working most of the weekend with very little downtime, and I just needed a break. I was a little worried about what state I might find Dreamer in today when we trained, but she was her happy and willing old self. Whew! We had a good session, and I can tell that the wheels are turning in her brain. We'll work through our latest homework and be ready for our next lesson over Thanksgiving weekend. I will try to have more alcohol and more progress by then.

Weave Wonders Day 2

The video instructs you to move the weave poles to the grass and line up the entry with a tree so that the poles are at 8:00 and 2:00. Remy and I got back from our run and he was tired, but game. It was very interesting that he immediately recognized the poles and moved toward them. He tried several various things (going around them to the right; going around them to the left, etc) before he finally realized to go between them. Each time he goes, I throw the ball or the frisbee low, he brings it back and we start all over again. You work the arc around the entrance and by the end of our 5 minute session, he could hit the entry from every angle. So far, so good!

Weave Wonders

I have been putting off this weave pole training until I thought I had a stretch of days where I could consistently train. I watched the video and took copious notes while pausing and playing; pausing and playing. I read the notes several times more to get the method firmly implanted in my pea brain. And then we ventured forward to my driveway. The method consists of starting with 2 poles and building "value" for the poles themselves. This woman should be given a Nobel Prize! Hopefully, at the very least, she is making a lot of money.
The method is AMAZING! You have to be patient and have good timing, but it is so rewarding to watch your dog figure out that the poles bring reward. We did the first easy session before the run. After our run, we started the 2nd session. He acted as if we had never done the first session and just stood by me, gazing lovingly into my face. So I pulled out the frisbee and tugged, getting him fired up again so he would want to move. It worked! He works better when he is on my left (gee, I wonder why?) so I made sure to have him on my right as well. He did so well, I gave him a short break and we jumped right into the 3rd session which is angling the poles for a proper entry. No problems. My assignment today is to watch Day 2 of the video, take notes and be prepared for tomorrow. We did it! I wouldn't say that the poles have as much value as a squirrel or a leaf, but considering they don't move, we're getting there:)

Cat Nip

On our run this morning, we stopped at the parking lot of the Sanford Bar and Grill to train around the cats. As usual, Remy was very distracted by them, but within minutes his attention was back on me. I can't say that we really nipped the cat watching, but we tried. We didn't do a lot. I was anxious to get back and begin our Susan Garrity 2X2 weave pole training.

No Hand Burning

Dreamer and I have had a couple of great training sessions this week. Last night, I would've rather burned my hands on the stove than trained Dreamer, but I forced myself to get out with her. You know, I never regret training her. She puts me in the best mood with her spunk and willingness. Even when she's being a Devil Dog, I find our time together to be heavenly.

Anyway, I was so proud of Dreamer last night as a helicopter flew over us during a sit-wait...and Dreamer held! It was scary, noisy, and flying really low. I'm so impressed that she trusted me and held her stay to please me. It felt like a breakthrough, even though we haven't had a whole lot of problems on the stay exercise.

Tonight, I really thought I wasn't going to get out to train Dreamer. Despite last night's positive session, I wanted to burn my hands on the stove again. But I forced myself to train Dreamer instead, and we had a really good time. We worked the dumbbell a bit last night and tonight, and she's already starting to take it without any resistance. All I really want her to do right now is hold it for a few seconds, which she is doing. It's hard to believe what she can achieve in just a couple of days. Our sessions are never longer than 15 minutes, and we never repeat any one thing more than 4 or 5 times per day (if even every day), so I guess I find her learning ability to be pretty amazing.

Tomorrow night: The goal is to prefer to train Dreamer instead of burn my hands on the stove. I'll try to light a fire under myself again. Stay tuned.

Obedience Fun Match #3

Gail, Tammy (Boxer owner), and I traveled to the 3 day shows in Grand Rapids. Since we were showing early on Friday morning, I entered the correction match on Thursday night. I was a bit leery about showing with Gail watching since she thinks she knows all. But as it turned out, it was a huge boost to my confidence. More about that later. I decided that I would use food and praise at this match because at the last match I didn't. Remy was almost perfect. He ignored the judge walking along and watched me. This is another leap forward. As far as I know, he was near perfect on the on-lead heeling. On the figure 8, he lagged on the outside turns. That's a new one! The judge allowed me a 3rd go-round so I ran and encouraged him. That did the trick. I asked the judge for no eye contact on the stand and he was perfect. Next match I will up the ante again and ask for eye contact. On the off lead heeling he was just about perfect until the fast pace, about turn at the ring entrance. He responded to the quick correction much better than last time (he didn't go through my legs!) and instead quickly got back into heel position. The recall was excellent but I did use food when he was almost to me to lure him into the perfect front. I used a hand signal for the finish and it was great. Weird dog...I guess he prefers a hand signal to the voice command. I'm not sure why. After I came out of the ring, I commented, "Not bad for a pea brain". Gail said that I shouldn't call him that. She said it will come back to haunt me and that when he gets his OTCH, she's going to take out an ad in the TNT and print, "Pea Brain Does It!" That comment blew me away. I have never mentioned to Gail that I would like to put an OTCH on Remy.
On Saturday, after showing in conformation, I worked him in the noisy grooming area and he did pretty well with his attention. I also asked 2 people to do the stand for exam and he stayed...hooray!
I ran into a gal with a Terv female that Remy fell in love with at the Marshall shows in July. She got her first OTCH point that weekend and finished the title in October. How impressive is that?
My goals this week are to take Remy to the class I am teaching at my club on Thursday and get a lot of people to do the obedience stand as well as the conformation stand. I'm also planning to do some dumbbell work and start up again with weave pole training. I write this to motivate myself. We'll see....

Grooming 102

Dreamer and I were invited out to Cynthia's house today for a refresher course in grooming. We hadn't seen Cynthia since the grooming party in August, and though I had taken notes the first time around, I had some follow-up questions that needed in-person explanation and demonstration.

Cynthia decided that she would invite all local Terv club members, but the turnout was pretty low. Most of the people are in agility and/or rally, so I'm sure grooming is not their top priority. One club member brought her male, so I got to watch Cynthia give pointers on how to groom him. Then Cynthia went over Dreamer, and I took notes on what I'd missed the first time around. It was a good session, and Dreamer was very patient for the four hours we spent there. Oh, and the vodka-lemonade drink Cynthia made for me was fantastic!

Prior to the grooming party, I took Dreamer to conformation drop-in class. She was a little wild, but we worked on her following a variety of dogs today. She seemed better, but it's usually a crapshoot with her. I guess I'm a little down about conformation right now because I've heard so many people say that you shouldn't bother showing your dog until it's 3 years old, especially if you're an owner-handler. I just wonder if I'm wasting my time and money right now. The points are few and far between for all the work. In any case, Dreamer had a full day, and it was fun to spend the day with her. Did I mention that she looks and smells wonderful?

A Weekend With the Dumbbell

Dreamer and I have had a very busy weekend. As I sit here blogging at the kitchen table, I've got chicken cooking for fajitas, a fantastic pale ale in a frosty glass, and a Roomba doing its job in the living room. (More on the Roomba later. I've had it for a week, and Dreamer went from being afraid of it to attacking it!)

Yesterday, Dreamer and I went to conformation drop-in class. She's getting better with stacking and holding for exams, but she's still a wild pony during the all-around. I tried walking with her again in class this week, but it didn't work. I know that she'll grow out of it, but I find it really frustrating. She gets so turned on by motion and clapping that she can't think. It must be nice to live in the moment and just feel the excitement as it's happening! The instructor had someone run in front of us for our individual all-around every time it was our turn, but that didn't seem to bother Dreamer. It was when everyone was running that she lost her head. I'd like to borrow Remy's pirate costume so that Dreamer can walk the plank, please!

Today, I took Dreamer to her obedience lesson with Karen. She did pretty well, and we learned a few new things. We're starting the dumbbell this week, but Legan's old dumbbell is just way too big for the delicate Dreamer. There's a guy in town who's older than dirt and makes custom-fit dumbbells. I guess all the local obedience people get their dumbbells from him, so I'll be looking into a fitting when we start working the dumbbell pretty regularly. For now, we're just getting Dreamer used to it being in her mouth. I don't anticipate making much progress this week since I'll be out of town tomorrow through Thursday, but Dreamer catches on pretty quickly. I think she'll grasp the dumbbell, among other things, in the one week we'll have before meeting up with Karen again.

I guess I'm just a little frustrated at how hard some things are for Dreamer (sits, for example). I know every dog has trouble spots, but I just wish Dreamer wasn't such a dumbbell about some things. Why can't it be easy?

CRS

Do you know what CRS is? Anyway, I forgot that when Remy was ready to visit the ring stewards on the about turn after the fast pace, I grabbed his collar and gave him a quick pop. He responded by turning back toward me and promptly going through my legs from behind. That got quite a chuckle from the crowd and the judge. Bad, silly, fun boy. I wonder what the deduction for that is?

Show and Glow

Debbie, Barb, and I went to Flint for a show and go yesterday morning. It made me prepare early for my banquet and kept me from worrying about it all day. The drive down was fun as we discussed (ok, gossiped) about other people in our club. When we got there, Remy was pumped. It was a very large building with 3 rings: one for each of the levels of obedience. The Novice ring was near the registration table and next to a walkway where dogs were being warmed up between the rings. We had to wait about an before we showed but it was great for Remy as it gave him time to settle down, go potty, warm up, etc.
I had a hard time keeping his attention in the building, so I wondered what he would be like in the ring. Debbie was first with her GSD Annie. Annie did not qualify at the national because she jumped in and out of the ring on the heel free! Annie did quite well, but did not sit on the recall and didn't finish on command. The people outside the ring were right on top of the gate and we think that's what caused her reaction.
Then it was our turn. Remy is responding well to the "ready" response you give to the judge. Even though he was looking at the judge, when I said, "ready" he looked back at me. Perfect:) That's a new trick for me. I never used that with my other dogs. He heeled well and didn't miss the first sit like last time even though the judge was there. The rest of his heeling was quite good. With the judge nearby, he tends to quickly look back and forth, but Debbie said he stayed in heel position and his sits were perfect. Barb (who I am finding is quite negative or hmmm, jealous?) said that he was looking all around. Debbie said she'd videotape next time.
Anyway, I was very pleased on the figure eight because he hardly bumped on the inside turn this time. I did give encouragement on the second time around the outside turn because he lagged a bit. I did not use food at all. On the stand, after giving up my leash (security!!!), I stood him, and he set up well...no extra foot movement. Progress:) I then left him and told the judge that I am having an issue with him thinking this is petting time. I asked her if she would go over him with no eye contact. She was a doll and did as asked. Remy was perfect:)
On the heel free, he got into position with me quickly and did very well. Not perfect, but very well even with the judge following along. When we got to the fast and then normal near the ring entrance, the stewards almost got a dog to pet, but I quickly grabbed his collar and we did a nice about turn:)
On the recall, he did exactly what Annie did: came in straight but didn't sit. That didn't surprise me since I have been telling him to sit and I didn't this time. Handler error! Then he didn't finish! That did surprise me. I asked for my leash back and we tried again. Of course, with the leash on, he performed the finish...walk the plank, pirate!
Barb went in next and she surprised Debbie and me by constantly correcting Jessie. She never even let her have much of a chance to make a mistake! She just kept constantly correcting her and sucking the life out of her as she went. So sad:(
Aaah, and then the best part of the story. We had to wait about an hour for the group exercises and Remy finally settled down and was almost ready for a nap when we were called in for the group sit. I was thinking, "He'll probably lie down, but at least I can correct." Well, what happened next was worth the trip. At about 20 seconds into the long sit, the German Shorthair on the end, broke his sit and started racing back and forth in front of the other dogs! His owner was calling him and yelling "down", another lady came into the ring and tried to help catch him, and meanwhile, he kept racing back and forth! Several other dogs broke their stay including Jesse who was on Remy's right. But you would have been so proud of our little wild pony. He did not move a paw! His head jerked back and forth as he tracked the dog and once he even leaned forward as the dog raced past, but he didn't break!! I'm not sure how long the fiasco lasted, but the dog finally jumped the ring barrier, landed between the two rings, and jumped into the open ring, crashing the gating down. And still Remy held:) The judge said, "Back to your dogs" and when I got back, I pulled cheese from my sweatshirt and gave some to Remy and some to Debbie to give Annie who also held and we hugged our good dogs. The long down was uneventful. Debbie and I decided that we couldn't have asked more from a $5 entry fee.

My Wild Pony

Dreamer and I continue on our journey to new training places. It's not so bad once it's a habit. I had a really hard time with her tonight, though. She was just full of herself and very distracted in the parking lot I chose. To get her back, I tried the basics: I did the 1-2-3 game, made her chase me and then do a sit, made her chase me again and then do a down, etc. Those things didn't work quite as well as in the past, so I switched over to a type of bait she rarely gets (and I rarely bring more than one type with me). Then I started taking just two or three steps with heeling (instead of trying to do various types of turns or changes of pace) before praising her. That combo worked.

We had a really good conformation drop-in class. Dreamer didn't have a chance to greet the instructor before we started class, so she was beside herself with glee when it was her turn to be examined. I fought to keep her still, at which point the instructor turned to me and said, "Just let her say hi. Let's get this out of her system." So I let Dreamer say hi, and she just jumped up and wagged and loved the instructor, who said, "Oh, I just love this type of temperament in a Terv!"

Class was really good from then on out, until the end. We started moving the dogs individually, and Dreamer was WILD! She started galloping like a horse. The instructor yelled, "Bring that wild pony back here! We're going to fix this!" (Fixing problems isn't the point of drop-in class, but I certainly wasn't going to argue.) I brought Dreamer back while hearing my classmates laugh, and the instructor said, "You just need to start out walking until she gets her wits about her. THEN you can start running with her." It sounds like common sense, but I hadn't thought of that since I'm a dunce in conformation, and it really worked. I used that tactic when the whole group ran together at the end, and it worked well then too.

We'll return to drop-in class on Saturday. We'll do our obedience lesson on Sunday. We'll be ready for a break by Monday!

Show and Go Giggles

Remy was hysterical at the show and go. I was helping in the Utility ring when they called me. That left me no time to prepare Remy. I grabbed him out of his crate and into the ring we went. He was so happy to be with me that he was extra animated. The heel off lead was quite good after the first correction when he was so happily heeling along he didn't notice that I stopped! He watched me like a hawk after that and I would say that the rest of the heeling pattern was very good. He also did well on the figure eight except for excessive crowding on the inside turns. His sits were great. The judge came up from the left on the stand and that surprised him so he went to greet her, tail wagging happily. I corrected him and he held perfectly. The heel off lead was pretty good. His only mistakes were forging on the slow pace. The recall was fast and good until he got to me and sat crooked off my right leg...so what else is new? I corrected him so on the finish, he decided to correct me. I said, "Remy, heel" and he jumped up and went behind me quickly and then slid through my legs from behind! That little clown:)
He was perfect on the sits and downs although he thought about lying down with about 10 seconds to go and then thought better of it. He probably wondered if there was a brush under him! I didn't do any training this weekend so I'll have to get back at it for our next show and go which is Wednesday morning. Of course, I could just giggle and go again!

Our Daily Thread

Dreamer and I have definitely been getting out more since I finally got my lazy Tacara Terv Trainer tush in gear. Here's what we've done since our last post:

• Wednesday: Nothing! (Hey, it was pouring, and we shouldn't drill these babies to death with training every day, right? Good save.)
• Thursday: We trained in a parking lot near a boys' club where there was a lot of activity. We'd just gotten a cold front from Wednesday's rain, so it was raw and extremely windy. I laughed so hard at Dreamer because I think the wind was whooshing up behind her, and she kept thinking someone was blowing on her. She'd whip around, shocked, as if to say, "Who's goosing me?! Stop that!" Her heeling is really starting to look good. She's so darned cute and bouncy. I think she could win points in obedience for cuteness alone!
• Friday: What an exhausting day. I took Dreamer to work with me because I thought the day would be slow. However, I received a lot of meeting invitations overnight and hadn't checked my work email until arriving at the office, so Dreamer got to go to multiple meetings with me. She saw lots of people and ran laps around a long conference room table for hours. So crazy! I'm lucky I work with dog lovers. I'm going to try to take Dreamer to work with me at least once a week from now on. This is another commitment I'm trying to make. After a very long day at work, I was ready for a break from Dreamer but decided I had to train her. So I forced myself to take her out to a new parking lot where kids were coming in and out of a skating rink. Good one! It was hard for her, but I think she's already starting to focus more on me than on the distractions. Maybe she was just tired from being at work with me, though. Hmmm. Okay, it's too soon to say.
• Saturday (that's today): We are headed to conformation drop-in class in about an hour. This is one of my additional commitments until our next show in early December: to take Dreamer to drop-in class every Saturday. Thrilling. I will also try to train her in obedience today, but our primary commitment on Saturdays will be conformation. Dreamer will have an obedience lesson next Sunday. We've got to round up some new pieces of training equipment before then, so maybe I'll get her out to some pet stores for additional quality time.

That's what we've been doing this week. It will be interesting to see if Karen can tell a difference at our lesson next week. It will be more interesting to see if I can tell a difference at the shows in December. Stay tuned for...the rest of the story.

Frustrating Fronts

I worked Remy on our walk today. The heeling was awesome, but the fronts are really starting to frustrate him. I need him to understand that his butt cannot be perpendicular to my right leg. If we work on it more than a few times, he starts to whine...not a good thing. I guess I'll have to work indoors next to a wall to my right so that he cannot swing out. Or outside next to a tree or bush...
I think back to when we first started the automatic sit and he used to swing his butt out wide. I started him over again, placing him in a sit each time. Maybe that's the solution. What do you think, Tacara Terv Trainer? I know he wants to please but it's just not clicking. The whining bothers me because I know it's his way of telling me that he just doesn't get it.

Walnut Brain

Today was a huge leap forward for Remy so he no longer has a puppy pea brain....more like a walnut brain:)
I was taking a tennis clinic with friends for an hour this morning, so Mark and I decided to test Remy by leaving him loose in the bedroom. The problem was after the lesson, the other 3 gals wanted to play another hour! I worried the whole time. Silly me...while I was gone, Remy was enjoying our plush bed all to himself and dreaming of the days he used to be confined to his crate. He was very excited to see me and I was very excited to see my big angel boy.
I had 15 minutes to get ready to go meet Debbie and Barb at the club. Luckily for me, Remy took care of business outside quickly and we were on our way (including jumping into the car...always a good thing). When I arrived, the gal who cleans the club was vacuuming the other ring. Barb and I let Jessie and Remy run but confined them to the ring we would work in. When Debbie arrived, she let one of her dogs loose in the ring while she helped moved crates for vacuuming. Barb and I started training. Remy was actually pretty good even when the loose dog came around. I continued to work Remy for 30 minutes straight - going through all the novice exercises with the reward of frisbee catching and or tugging thrown in. I then did several sequences of off lead heeling and I was blown away! He is getting it! There was even a point when Debbie heeled her dog past and he started to look and then turned back to me. I was able to catch that lightbulb moment with a "yes" and a treat. Remy got very excited about that and bit my bait bag:) We still need to work on his fronts on the long recall. He veers off to the right. His finish is very cute - even though he's finishing around, he jumps up. He did lie down 3 minutes into the long sit, but got the brush correction. (I just love that look on his face when it happens!). He was perfect on the 5 minute long down.
We are all heading down to Flint for a show and go next Wednesday morning. I'm excited about that to see where we are at. I'm also helping ring steward on Saturday at our club for a show and go. I'll run Remy through at that also. Results to follow.

We Trained Tonight and Want a Badge For It

Dreamer and I trained at a nearby school parking lot tonight. I think there was a boy scout meeting there, so it was busy with cars pulling in and out and people walking by. I was very happy to be training Dreamer around distractions, but I think there were probably too many. I think I need to ease her into the distractions, starting with fewer ones and building to more. I was very pleased with how Dreamer worked tonight, but it was very hard for her. I tried a few tricks to get her attention back, and it was a struggle, but I was eventually successful. I am determined to continue training her in new places. Scout's honor.

Membership Meeting Means Movement

I took Remy to his 2nd membership meeting at our club. He was one tiny bit better than last time, but still very hyperactive. At one point, I had to take him to the back of the room and do some heeling and stays with him just to give him a job to do! There was a rep from Canidae there who spoke and explained the nutrition of dog food. He gave us sample packets. Remy ate a whole packet of salmon. I was thrilled! When I got home, I put some in his bowl. Are you kidding me? It's still sitting there this morning.
While seated, I kept him occupied by giving down, sit, stand, etc. hand signals which he eagerly did in succession, pleased to have his mind occupied.
By the end of the 2 hour meeting, Remy was finally lying by my side but eagerly staring me in the eyes as if to say, "When do we train again, huh? huh? huh?"
Oh, I love my little pirate.

Getting Out More

I've known it for a long time.

I've done nothing but yap about it. (yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap)

But now I'm finally doing something about it.

I'm getting Dreamer out more.

I used to be really good at taking Dreamer to new places. In fact, from the day I picked her up at Linda's house (at 7 weeks) to the end of the critical socialization period (at 12 weeks), I took Dreamer to a new place every single day. Dreamer went to work with me as well as to parks, schools, shopping centers, ice cream parlors, Lowe's, obedience lessons, agility trials, pumpkin patches, nurseries, and any other place I could think of where we could meet a variety of people and dogs. There was a lot of noise and commotion at all of those places.

Since then, I've been a total slacker. I've taken Dreamer to work on rare occasions, and I've shown her in conformation a few times, but otherwise I've trained her in the back yard at my own convenience. I think it finally hit me at our last dog show that I need to commit to getting out more with my dog. So...here's what we've done since Thursday, when the thunderstorms and other excuses cleared out of our forecast:

• Thursday: We went to a new place to train with lots of distractions. Dreamer was crazy. It was really hard to get her attention, but I finally got her into a good working mode. I wasn't pleased with our training session at all, but I felt like it was good reinforcement for the training commitment I was starting.
• Friday: Dreamer went to work with me for the first time in at least three months. She met a black Lab who's new to the office and had a ball playing with her. By the time we got home, I must say we'd had more than enough quality time together, and I didn't train her...but I felt good that I'd gotten her out and around a lot of people and activity.
• Saturday: Gosh, I don't think I trained Dreamer or took her anywhere new. I was going to take her to conformation drop-in class, and I can't think of why I didn't...except that I am, and forever will be, a total slacker at heart.
• Sunday: I took Dreamer to her obedience lesson, where she was 100% focused and adorable! It was very windy, and she was herding all the leaves blowing by, but she was incredibly attentive for having a baby brain. We had a very productive training session with Karen and put more pieces of the heeling pattern together. I left our lesson feeling motivated and inspired by this beautiful and willing little girl. We got some nice compliments from Karen too, who said, "She is really starting to get it. Aren't you excited?!" I'm definitely excited that we're building on the basics and seeing results. Karen is an excellent cheerleader. She makes you feel better when you leave than you did when you got there, as she knows how to identify, and focus on, small victories.
• Monday (that's today): I took Dreamer to a parking lot across from a very busy park. She made some of her little "woof-woof" alert noises, but she was very attentive. We worked for quite a while, and I feel like we accomplished a lot.

It felt good to come home knowing that I had spent some time working with my girl in a new place. I'm not sure if I'm just excited about finally doing something about our biggest problem or if I'm just easily entertained and need to get out more. In any case, my Tacara Terv got trained today!

Getting to Second Base

Due to Karen showing her Irish Setters over the weekend, we moved Dreamer's obedience lesson to tonight. The first half of the lesson was frustrating because we met at our usual place, but there was a baseball game going on nearby. The distractions were good...and bad! Dreamer's baby brain was in full gear, and getting her attention was very hard.

Karen had me do some pop and runs. When those didn't work (Hello, Earth to Dreamer!), Karen had me do a variety of things with Dreamer after each pop and run. So...I'd pop, run, and do a Sit...then a Down...then a Stand. Dreamer seemed to respond to that. I need to get her out more to different places, which is definitely a big problem that is my fault. Taking her to new places will be necessary as we move into the time change and darkness; I'll have to find well-lit training places during the week. Nothing like being forced into something to make it happen!

After the first 30 minutes of correcting my handler errors on various exercises, we spent the last 30 minutes putting bigger chunks of heeling together. Now we'll actually do changes of pace and turns instead of doing them all separately. I finally feel like we're getting to second base with this training method!

At the end of our lesson, Karen told me to order a jump stick, but I can't remember why. She also told me to find a hula hoop. She said we're going to teach Dreamer how to jump through a hula hoop because it will teach her to jump like a porpoise. Karen said that she teaches most breeds how to jump this way, but particularly shepherds and other breeds that tend to jump really straight. I remember how Legan used to take off way too early and barely clear the jump. It was hard to watch, and people would always gasp when she was about to land. Ugh. It should be interesting to see how Dreamer will handle the hula hoop phase of our training. Who knows, maybe she'll hit a home run?

We'll have our next lesson in two weeks. Until then, it's obedience practice and two days of dog shows.

Super Sinner Sunday

On my way home from my run, Mark drove by on his way to church. Unlike his sinner wife, he was going to thank God for John's success on the bar exam. I told him to pray for me and continued on my merry, happy way, thanking God for every injury-free step that I now run.
Remy was very excited to see me, having been relegated to his crate in Mark's absence. Therefore he was super excited to train. Remember the old Koehler method of crating the dog for 2 hours before training? I always thought that was ridiculous. I don't think a dog knows the difference between 2 hours and 2 minutes. But I do see how crating prior to showing or training can make that dog want to be near you and work hard. The Remster got very excited as I pulled out his training equipment.
We worked on lead for a very short time because he's almost perfect on lead unless around strong distractions. I then attached my new tracking long line to his collar and we heeled some more. My new training stick is a gentle reminder to him about where to be with the feeling of freedom. Since I was heeling in the street in front of our house, the long line gave me a feeling of security should I need it. I am using treats in a very sporadic manner now. Sometimes 90%, other times 25%. This method of intermittent reinforcement is working well. I always up the treat level if he seems confused or very distracted. Otherwise, I'm working on praise alone. I am also starting to back off on the verbal praise so that I can finally get him to the level he'll receive in the ring (after exercises). I am thrilled with his progress. He seems very happy and willing to work. We are still having trouble with straight sits on the recalls, but I can tell that he is thinking them through. The look on his face is so precious as he gets near and tries different butt positions! He held a long sit for 2 minutes without going down, but he was also concentrating on people who were walking past. So it will be interesting to see if he lies down on Wednesday at the club when he gets bored.
The training stick is really working for the crowding! It's such a great, gentle way to teach him heel position without bumping into him for the correction. He's actually learning much faster about not forging and not crowding with the stick than he did with all the left turns we used in the past.
We are continuing the dumbell work and it is going well.

Dreamer's Day Out

Dreamer had a big day today. It started with her annual vet visit. *Sniff* I hate the idea of this "annual" visit now. She's officially a dog!

Anyway, the vet told me that on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the ideal pet weight, Dreamer is a 5. I gave her a look like she was insane, and then she asked if I'm unhappy with Dreamer's weight. I explained that Dreamer is probably perfect for performance sports, but she's too lean for conformation. The vet could see my point about judges looking for "beefy" dogs, but she held firm in her belief that Dreamer is at her ideal weight. Tell that to our judges, Doc. Gosh, there are times when I really wish veterinarians weren't so important and could spend some idle time being conformation judges. Of course, I'm sure there are some vets who do both.

After the vet appointment, Dreamer and I went to conformation drop-in class. Dreamer wasn't near as wild as last week, but I wonder if that's because she already spent some of her energy getting overstimulated at the vet's office? She was still wild, but I found her a lot easier to control this time. I did lose her a few times and tried the 1-2-3 trick as well as a pop-and-run "here." My friend Nancy, who owns Panda, said she felt there was nothing wrong with a pop-and-run in the conformation ring if it brings the dog back. I just hope I remember it's an option. I find myself freaking out when I'm in the ring and I can't get Dreamer back. It's only after we leave the ring that I think, "Oh, why didn't I think to pop and run? Why didn't I play 1-2-3?" Ugh.

At the end of conformation drop-in class today, when we were running around the ring as a group (which is extremely difficult for Dreamer to do without breaking her gait, barking, acting wild, humiliating me, etc.), the lady in front of me fell and heard something pop. She thought it was her shoulder, but the instructor thought it was her collarbone. The lady had a very sluggish and clumsy Malamute that I had never seen before. I'm quite certain that she tripped over the dog and smacked down on the cement. I put her Malamute in a crate (with Dreamer hanging from his neck because she thought he was a chew toy, apparently) while the instructor called 9-1-1 and a guy in the class got her some water. She was flat on her back when I left. I hope she's okay, and I guess it was a good reminder that some people have real problems. We'll just go to the show next weekend and break a leg -- figuratively ONLY, of course!

Wonderful Wednesdays

Barb, Debbie, and I met for our Wednesday training session. Barb and I trained in the building and I was so excited about Remy's progress. The only time he gets distracted now is when Barb and Jesse are playing with squeak toys. Otherwise, Remy is doing great! He even heels beautifully off lead now. True, I am holding a treat. But this is where we started our training on lead, so the progress is great. He held his stand perfectly for Barb. We let Jesse and Remy run and play when Debbie got there late. They ran and ran and ran, narrowly missing chairs and zipping through ring gate openings as if they were in a Jack Russell race.
Debbie forgot to bring heat panties for her bitch in heat, so we moved outside for the rest of the session. I purposefully heeled behind Debbie and her bitch to see if I could keep Remy's attention. Remy's nose looked like Samantha on Bewitched!! So cute. He did well and extended his neck toward her butt, but did his automatic sits and didn't lunge.
On the long sit, he is continuing the "oh, I am so bored so I think I'll lie down". I know he understands now because as I approached him, he sat back up. Now that he understands, I think I'll give him one more week to be sure his pea brain understands before I either put something under him that will make him uncomfortable when he lies down or give him a good pop. I prefer the first method. What do you think? We are at full length on the sits and downs now and have been for months. This problem just popped up 2 or 3 weeks ago.

Back in the Game

Dreamer and I had a good training session tonight. I lost her pea brain a few times, so I used the 1-2-3 trick: I took a treat and waved it around as I said, "One...two...three!" Dreamer watched the treat and pawed at it like we were playing a game, which we were. Then I threw the treat a few feet away, and Dreamer ran after it. There's really no better way to get her back than to make a game of it.

Once we got through some heeling, arounds, and go-out groundwork, I put Dreamer on a sit-wait. Without saying "One...two...three," I waved the treat around. When I threw it, she went after it. Darn. But I guess she has to make mistakes in order to learn what I want her to do. It was a bit unfair and confusing for her too, after we had made such a fun game of it. The second time I waved and threw the treat, she didn't fall for it. Good girl. I love how Dreamer is game for whatever challenge comes her way.

Return of the Drop-In Dropouts

Dreamer and I returned to conformation drop-in class today for the first time since June. It showed! When Dreamer saw our conformation instructor, she was beside herself with glee. As we walked in the door, our instructor said, "Well, look who's back!" Next thing I know, Dreamer is jumping on her and showering her with sweet kisses. Between kisses, the instructor says, "And I see she's still as shy as ever!"

Our first stand for exam was wild. The Dreamer was insane. To be fair, I really haven't worked with her on conformation since the shows in July, so I gave her a break on the first round. I worked pretty hard to keep her under control on our second turn with the exam, and by the third exam, Dreamer was a beautiful statue. If only we could get 30 minutes in the ring before the judge actually saw us, we'd do so much better!

I practiced many stacks with Dreamer between our turns, which didn't come often because 12 dogs showed up to class today, so I think we had a really good hour of individual training mixed with a simulated show. We'll try it all again next Saturday, I guess! As we were getting ready to leave, the instructor came up to us and said to me, "She's so beautiful in movement. Now if only we could get the devil out of her during the exam!" Then she turned to Dreamer, who was dancing around wanting to visit her, and said, "You are the friendliest and happiest Terv I have ever seen! This is crazy! You're so un-Tervlike!" We'll take that as a good thing.

Distraction Cat

Remy is not a cat lover due to the cat next door who torments him. On our run today, the cat whom we have used as a distraction before was out and very willing to be a training aid. He sat quietly by the road while Remy and I ran by. I couldn't waste the perfect opportunity to train. Remy tried desperately to stay in heel position by crowding my leg so he could watch the cat and not me. I didn't allow this and praised each nano-second his attention turned back to me. When we had breakthrough on heeling, I put him on a sit stay very close to the cat. No problems there. Back running, Remy seemed very pleased with himself. I stopped again a few minutes later and we did a few quick heeling patterns with no distractions. The little pirate was perfect. I'm sure if he had his way, he'd make the cat walk the plank:)

Dreamer Nose Best

Dognabbit! Dreamer scraped her nose while I was at work today. Who knows how, but she did it right on cue like she did a few weeks before our dog show weekend in May. @%#$!

Okay. Calming down. Reflecting. Our only point came from that "Rudolph" dog show weekend in May, so perhaps Dreamer "nose" what she is doing?! I'm still a little peeved at her right now, though. Quit nosing around and just stay still and unscathed until after the shows, please. Who knows? Maybe Christmas will come early this year.

In other news, we've enjoyed a significant cold front over the past few days, and Dreamer has been full of herself with the sharp change in temperature. She's been very attentive and energetic during our training sessions. She's doing better with sit-waits when I throw a yummy treat near her. I love it when she starts to understand what I want from her and cares more about that than she does about the temptation. Good girl!

Team in Training

Barb, Debbie and I trained today at the club. Remy just loves these sessions! We made great progress on short recalls with straight fronts. The training stick is really helping him understand. It's also working for forging and today I used it to help him keep his butt from swinging out while heeling. My little pirate is doing well:) I guess there is no brain damage from yesterday's overheating incident.
The most rewarding part of the session was that he was able to concentrate quite well even though one of Debbie's dogs was in heat. The other cool thing is that he held his stand for exam much better. Making progress....

About Face

Dreamer and I had our lesson with Karen today, and it went pretty well. Dreamer checked out after 30 minutes instead of 10 this time. It was hot and humid again, so I felt like she endured the conditions pretty well. We've had a few problems with anticipation and swinging out wide on heeling. Karen has been a good problem solver on these things and my many handler errors. I always learn something new from Karen.

Dreamer brought her A game to our lesson today with her heeling. When she's on, that baby girl is ON! She looks so fantastic when I've got her attention. She's doing really well on about turns, and she looks so willing with that adorable face and those interested warm brown eyes. Is it points off if I just stop in the middle of the heeling pattern, sweep her up into my arms, and start showering her with kisses?! I wish we could get into the obedience ring soon, but I know it's not going to happen. It will be interesting to see how to keep Dreamer's attention and enthusiasm, as well as my own, while we work through the method to get ready for the ring.

Since our conformation dog show weekend is approaching quickly, I plan on taking Dreamer back to conformation drop-in class next Saturday. I cannot say that I've missed it...at all...but it will be good for her, and we've got to get serious again. I mean, we've got to at least look somewhat ready for the ring when we get dumped next month, right?

Over the Hill

This is the weekend of the Julie Hill obedience workshop. The workshop goes from 8 to 5 each day, which is much too long for my pea brain, let alone Dreamer's. I went to the workshop with full intentions of cutting out early.

However, I didn't anticipate that I'd leave as early as noon...or be thinking by 9:22 AM, "I'd rather be doing my laundry or cooking a nice meal." But that's exactly what happened, and Dreamer and I won't be returning to the workshop.

I knew early on that I was not connecting with Julie. She was a perfectly nice person, but she didn't have that gift of captivating you with a story or method or even a single train of thought for any amount of time! Julie had no agenda or handout materials. She didn't have anything groundbreaking to say and tended to start doing things with her dogs without explaining what or why or how. The more outspoken people in the crowd put forth considerable effort asking questions and pulling the information out of Julie so that we could all learn whatever she was trying to communicate. I felt like it was way too hard to connect the dots. If you're an "expert," shouldn't you be able to demonstrate that talent in a natural way?

Furthermore (gosh, I just feel like a Julie Hill Hater, but she really was a very nice person!), Julie spent a great deal of time talking about stress in the ring -- mostly a dog's stress. I started to realize that she was focusing solely on her personal experience when she started using her Pointer as a demo dog. That Pointer was shaking like a leaf, and I really felt the red flags popping up. Julie seemed to explain it away, like, "This is the dog I got, and this is just the way she is." She also said she had to retire her Bloodhound because it wouldn't stop growling at judges during the Stand for Exam. I can tell you that my instructor would never throw up her hands and say she couldn't solve undesirable problems in a dog. After Julie talked about stress, she went into "foundation training" and how/what you need to do with your dog from the very beginning. Since none of us had puppies, it was more of a note-taking exercise that wasn't very helpful because she positioned it as "start this when they're 8 weeks old or you're screwed." It was just clear to me that her demos weren't matching what she was saying, and I found myself thinking, "I don't believe a word this woman is saying."

On the bright side, Julie has a wonderfully happy 19-month-old Terv "baby in training" named Smartie. I loved Smartie. She was absolutely adorable and definitely a smartie! I can see Julie doing well with Smartie, purely by accident and luck. (Okay, now I really do sound like a Julie Hill Hater!) When Julie would give commands to her trembling Pointer during a demo, you could see Smartie obeying them in the ex pen nearby, which was hilarious! I wanted to steal Smartie pretty badly, and I would be very surprised if Julie doesn't get an OTCH on Smartie.

On the way home from the workshop, I called my instructor Karen to see if we could schedule a lesson for tomorrow. Her answer was yes. There was something about the Julie Hill experience that made me appreciate Karen that much more. It was the last shred of validation I needed to truly trust in Karen and fully appreciate her for the wonderful and gifted teacher that she is.

Stray Thoughts

We have a stray dog in our neighborhood. Animal Control tried to pick her up, but no luck. Four days ago, they set up a live trap with food. She is hungry and has tried to dig her way to the food, but will not go into the trap which looks like a long crate.
Meanwhile, she is carrying a ton of fleas and I don't like Remy to play with her. Unfortunately, our invisible fence has a distinct disadvantage: it allows animals to come into our yard.
The situation is getting old because Remy and I have lost our freedom. But, in my lemons to lemonade past Girl Scout mentality, I decided to use the stray as a training distraction. We practiced informal "heres" and formal heeling, recalls, and sit stays. Sometimes I can barely believe that I was lucky enough to get a dog like Remy. He worked hard for me even with the stray running loose in our yard. Once again, I put Linda on a pedestal and bow before her.

Key Club

We have what we call the "key club" at our building. If you pay $30 a year, you are given a code which opens a lock box and contains the key to the building.
I have yet to use the building without a training partner, but I sure do think I will this winter should I be unable to meet up with someone.
Barb and I met today to train Remy and Jesse. They just love each other! We upped the ante today and had one person playing with toys while the other heeled around. Remy had a hard time with this. Barb suggested the old Koehler trick of turning and running. This worked like a charm. Once Remy was with me again, I rewarded him with a toy or a treat...a good combo of old and new.
Recalls are coming along as are fronts. My new training stick is working like a charm for the forging. Barb complimented me on Remy's sits. But, as usual, while some progress is made, there is usually some backsliding. Remy has taken to lying down on the sit stays! I'm going to try an old trick - place a brush under him!
Remy and Jesse were rewarded with a play session at the end.

Club Training

Debbie, Barb, and I met at noon on Wednesday to train at the club. Debbie had 4 dogs! Remy did ok - nothing new to report. He is still distracted more than I would like around the other dogs, but improving a lot. I would think that in 7 months, he'll be ready, but we'll see...
It was so cute on the sits and downs...Remy in the middle of all those German Shepherds!

In Heat, But Not In Season...or Something Like That

Dreamer and I melted during our 45-minute lesson with Karen on Sunday. The heat is back with a vengeance, and Dreamer checked out early. I'd say she was in her own little world ten minutes into our lesson. She's never done that before, so I think the change in temperatures is probably affecting her. I'm just glad she's not "in heat" yet. I like having an unaltered female who doesn't go into heat! I realize she'll probably be bleeding when I get home tonight, now that I've jinxed myself.

Our lesson was good, despite Dreamer letting Karen and I know that she was hot and uninterested. Karen taught us a few new things to help with footwork on about turns, right turns, and left turns. We really didn't learn many new things, which is kind of disappointing, but Karen says we're not ready to move on yet. She thinks we're making good progress on lots of things and that we need to focus on what Dreamer can do, not on what she can't do (tucked sits are the devil!). Karen tells me to call her when I have a question about something, but some of my problems are handler errors that she needs to SEE in order to correct. It gets a little frustrating when I feel like I have to wait until our next lesson to see what I have been doing wrong, but I guess that's part of it.

My friend Cathy, who sometimes comes to our lessons because she recommended Karen and got an OTCH under her, reminded me that she didn't get her OTCH until her extremely bright dog was 9. Cathy had started with a different instructor using the Koehler method and really didn't meet Karen until her dog was 6 or 7. Cathy knows I'm frustrated that Dreamer is 13 months old and doesn't know the things that my previous dogs did at this age, but she reminds me that it should all pay off when we're ready to show in all three classes consecutively. I hope she is right. I will try to trust our new method and Karen, but sometimes it just seems like a long haul. It's time to chill out, I suppose -- especially in this heat!

Who Is This Dog and What Did He Do With Remy?

I packed up and drove to the rail trail this morning. The plan was to run and then train in obedience afterward. I figured there would be plenty of distractions with Labor Day.
We started running and Remy was pulling more than usual due to all the new smells in a new place. I took a chance and let him run by me off lead. As I ran, I kept an eye out for people on bikes coming toward us or approaching from behind. As a retired teacher, I still haven't lost that "eye on the back of my head"! We practiced several "here" commands as he ran ahead. Each time, he turned and flew back to me. For the first few distractions, I put Remy back on lead and put him on a sit stay. No problems. I upped the ante to leaving him off lead on a sit or down. Again, no problems. I tried putting him back on the leash and letting it drag with the command, "Leave it". Again no problems and of course, tons of lavish praise. From there, we progressed to walking along and stopping with him standing by my side and obeying the "leave it" command. By the end of the run, he was running near me while bikes flew by! He ignored them all except the really fast riders. With those, I had to give a strict command, but he obeyed. All of this for praise alone! I love this dog:)
When we got back to the car, I gave him a drink, pulled out his leather lead and my treat bag. He heeled on and off lead with no problems other than forging. I am definitely planning to order the training stick to help him understand. It will also help him keep his butt in when he heels. Off lead, he tends to swing his butt out away from me even though his head is still wrapped around my leg. Barb says some judges don't like this. Picky picky.
We did 2 long recalls and the chair exercise is helping Remy target a straight front, but now he sticks his nose between my legs! It probably doesn't help that I think it is funny. Again, the stick can help with this, so I'm not worried.
We followed up with a frisbee session in the park. He ignored all the people on bikes, walking, etc. Amazing! If his Tacara Terv Trainer stays motivated all winter, I can't imagine that he won't be ready for Novice by the National.

Laboring To Learn Agility Signals on labor Day Weekend

Remy and I trained in Debbie's backyard tonight. First we worked her GSD Charlie, then Remy, then her GSD Cadence, then her GSD Annie. By the end, I had to resort to bug spray. We started at 4:00 and finished at 7:00. Too long for my pea brain!
I tied Remy to a tree in the shade and he was such a good boy! He whined a few times, but for the most part watched patiently. He was quite unperturbed by a neighbor who was shooting a gun at a target in the neighboring woods. It was very loud and annoying, but Mr. Remster was fine.
I learned a lot about signals and sequences by watching Debbie, but when it was my turn to give the same signals to Remy, I struggled. Agility training is so hard for the handler! Remy did well and was patient with me. He is doing so well staying focused off lead! He only wandered off a few times to smell the ground and "mark" where her female had peed. She is about to come into heat and Remy was well aware.
It's so cool to see Remy love the teeter and the weave poles. I never thought that this day would come!

You Can Teach An Old Trainer New Tricks

Barb called to say that her doctor's appointment was running late so she wouldn't be able to make it today. Luckily, Debbie (my Adv. Nov. instructor and agility friend) could make it. Debbie doesn't really like obedience even though she teaches it, but she is gearing up for the German Shepherd Nationals. She is doing great with her 6 year old bitch, Annie; the problem is she fears that she will come into heat (sound familiar?).
Debbie has been to many workshops and learned a lot of tricks. We worked on one to help her with Annie's lagging. It worked like a charm. Debbie then wanted to help Remy with it. I told her that he never lags. She didn't really believe me until she followed me around the ring a few times:)
Remy is a forger if anything, so she showed me this collapsible wand and how to use it. WOW! It's the next thing on my list to buy.
We also worked on fun recalls sitting in chairs and throwing food out for the dog to go away and then calling them back in with a food lure using your feet as targets for them to sit between. Remy loved this.
We did all the Novice exercises and did formal sits and downs with twice the time needed. Remy held like a rock even though he and Annie were only 2 feet apart. I love my boy!
I was using a new squeaky tennis ball I bought at the last show as his reward. Annie got hold of it and killed the squeaker...guess that's on my shopping list as well.
I hope this post is coherent. My contacts are glued to my eyes....

A Summer Night's Dreamer

Dreamer and I are enjoying the cooler summer nights we've had lately. They've been great for training. I can't say we've had any new breakthroughs, but we've been consistent in our training sessions...and I think it shows, breakthroughs or not.

I am really looking forward to taking Dreamer to the Julie Hill obedience workshop later this month. Julie sent us an email with a questionnaire to fill out. I have to admit that I felt a bit uncomfortable stating that I've trained dogs on and off since 1978, and yet my 13-month-old dog's various skills are at either "None" or "Beginner" level. On the bright side, upon submitting my questionnaire, I received a response from Julie. Since she has a Terv baby in training, she thinks it will be great fun to have another Terv baby there. I hope she doesn't single us out, as we're not looking to be the star characters in her play!

Here's To Us!

Remy and I had a great training session today. I made him heel before I took him off lead to go down to the water. This is always a great test to see if he can control himself before a huge reward. He did great! Then I practiced our "heres" while he raced toward the water. I was amazed! The second I gave the command, his head whipped around and he was racing toward me as fast as he had been going away seconds before! He really seems to thrive on praise alone now. Or I should say, praise with play following. I am so proud of him. Of course, I should add that I am an enthusiastic praiser. Anyone watching me would say that I am crazed. But that's ok because I love it and Remy thrives on it.

On the way home down our quiet street, I took him off lead knowing that no cars were coming. He stayed right by me until he heard geese honking and then he started moving away. This time he didn't come as quickly, but he came! (Had he not come, I would have run to a safe place to get him back to me by chasing me).

In our yard, I used his ring tug to get him to heel off lead with enthusiasm. Toys are now working without causing craziness. In the past, we couldn't use toys because he would get too excited. The rings also worked for the recalls although he did grumble about having to sit straight. I did 2 more short, crooked recalls with the rings held high and once he sat straight, we played tug until he was tired. I love working obedience like this...so much more fun than the old way!

Light at the End of the Tunnel

This Tacara Terv Trainer has been relatively consistent at training the Dreamer, even when she'd rather burn her hands on the stove. It really is fun once we get out there and get started. Dreamer is excelling at her advanced obedience tricks but is still slow to master the basics -- the tucked sits, mostly -- of course! Since Dreamer is a late bloomer in so many ways, I trust that she'll eventually get it.

Meanwhile, we're ready for Utility but would flunk out in Novice. (Okay, not really, but it feels that way at times!) We were having a few problems with folding into the Down, as Dreamer inched a bit forward before folding instead of just folding nicely backward...so I made corrections in my handling of that exercise, and I think Dreamer at least is showing improvement on her Downs.

Once we get there, I think Dreamer is going to be a spectacular obedience dog. It's just hard to stay motivated when you know you won't be showing for a couple of years. I hope the light at the end of the tunnel brings blue skies and blue ribbons to match!

Dog Park Again

After our match tonight (we pulled out a 5-3 win even with 3 guys missing at vocal music camp), Remy and I hit the dog park again. He is getting so good at playing with other dogs! I worked him on the teeter and a-frame and let him play as a reward. It's so cute how he concentrates on the task at hand even with the other dogs chasing him! We also worked outside the fence on obedience and he is really starting to concentrate on me even with the distractions. I think the goal of showing next spring is really going to work out.
One guy at the park asked, "What kind of dog do you think he is?" Grrr.... As politely as I could, I said, "He's a purebred dog called a Belgian Tervuren". I gotta love these people - they all have rescues. I just couldn't do it myself....

Here and There

On our run today, I decided to test Remy with his "here's" after we came out of the woods. He did quite well. I am thrilled that we are gaining off lead control. I tested him on a quiet street without any traffic.
The practice helped at agility class. I can now handle him in the "ring" off lead even with all the other dogs and people around. He has taken a huge leap forward. He will work for praise, toys, or food.
Tonight we did a simple agility course. First we walked the course and discussed the 12 obstacles and what would be best for each size dog. Then we went through one at a time. I was so glad I had practiced the teeter last night! I was absolutely blown away when Remy completed the course without error! He was fast but controlled. I was thrilled. The only thing he still has trouble with are weave poles, but we haven't worked on them for 2 weeks so I didn't try them in the course. I wanted a successful run since we have never tried to run more than 3 obstacles in a row.
You have got to try agility! It's a blast!

Dog Park

We had our first boys' dual match of the season tonight and I planned to take Remy to conformation class at Gail's. But we finished so early that I decided to take Remy to the dog park in town. Upon arrival, I saw that they had a lot of agility equipment set up. I decided I would train a bit in agility and then let Remy play. He was excited when he saw the tunnel and I directed him through. I have been wanting to try something new on the teeter and saw my opportunity. I wanted to see if I could wait to reward Remy after he tipped it to get him past the waiting game he has been playing at the fulcrum. Sure enough, it worked. After each successful teeter, I let him play with the other dogs in the park. By the end of the session, he was taking the teeter as easily as he takes all the other equipment.
As he played with other dogs, I worked on his informal recalls. He did great! I think the weekend at Lynn's showed him that playing with other dogs is great, but is not as great as receiving praise and treats from me. Either that, or he is just growing up. Whichever it is, I'm loving the new Remy.
I took him outside the park, but within sight of the other dogs. We worked on obedience. I was thrilled with his concentration! He did so well, we went back in the park to play more as a reward. What a great day of training! We skipped Gail's, came home and played more in the yard. I saved $10 and accomplished a ton. Oh, if all training days could be this rewarding!

My LIttle Statue

I just have to post this one because I'm so proud of Remy. At the show on Saturday, Remy was stacking so well that the judge called him "a little statue". I have been working very hard at getting him to stand with a beautiful neck arch, with a look that he is ready to spring forward to catch the bait. On Saturday, he didn't move a muscle when the judge came near. He just kept staring at the bait like we have been working on. What worked is that he thinks it's a big game and that any moment I might throw the bait to him. Hooray for catching games! After we gaited, the judge came over and the tail started wagging in greeting. The judge loved that as well. She said, "Oh, he's such a teenager". (I knew then that he wasn't going to be mature enough to win the major, but this is a judge who might put him up when he's more mature).
Lynn lent me a bunch of magazines. In one AKC magazine, they highlighted the Terv. It turns out that Nesh's grandfather, Artful Dodger of Anuin was a famous tale wagger!

Smart Dog = Procrastination

I feel sorry for Dreamer. Her Tacara Terv Trainer is so lazy and has been looking for excuses to avoid training lately. Last night, I did train Dreamer in long pants and a long-sleeved shirt so that I would not get eaten alive again. We had a really good training sesssion, once I made myself get out there and work with my baby girl. I didn't think it was going to happen. I just kept lounging around like a lazy loser, hoping darkness would fall and make it impossible to squeeze the training session in. Luckily, Dreamer is so adorable and persistent in the evenings that I feel guilted into working with her. I never regret it. I find it easy to avoid training sometimes because she's so smart and quick to learn. I feel like I'm training the A student who never does homework! Now if only we could master those tucked sits...

Eaten Alive!

Dreamer and I had a two-minute training session tonight, as the mosquitoes were swarming. We did a few sits, downs, and a little heeling before I couldn't take it anymore. My legs were stinging and burning. I was getting eaten alive by mosquitoes! I hated to disappoint Dreamer, but I'll be better equipped for our next session.

Team in Training Week 2

Barb and I met and I asked her to run our session since I am still reeling from the wedding weekend. We started with heeling past each other and Remy made progress. We worked on the figure 8 and Barb gave me some handling tips as to what judges are looking at right now. Things have changed a bit since I last showed. We used food as distraction work for each other. When I worked with her and Jesse, Remy was quiet in the crate. They had taken the crate I usually put him in to the fair this week, so I put him in this giant crate - it's the biggest crate I have ever seen. He looked so small I had to laugh!
We set up the Open high jump and taught them over and back using food. It was a piece of cake for Remy who likes the jumping part of agility the best and has never dodged a jump.
Finally we let them play together. What fun! That had to be the best reward of all for a great session.

The Lights Are On...

...but nobody's home. That is the story of Dreamer at the end of our lesson with Karen today. I don't think Karen has ever seen Dreamer after a weekend of hardcore playing with Panda. You really do have to see it to believe it! Dreamer was pretty good during her lesson today, and we spent an hour reviewing old things and learning new ones. Toward the end, it was hard to keep Dreamer's eyes open! She's been in a play coma since I brought her home last night. She played so hard with Panda. Right now, she is nodding off at my feet. 

Today, Karen told me that I'm doing really well as someone who's never used her training method before. That made me feel good. She's a really good cheerleader and keeps you motivated. We fixed some of my handler errors on a few exercises and have found something that might work to finally get Dreamer to think about tucked sits. More on that as we work this week and try the new trick, but the goal is to stop doing the tucking and make Dreamer think about it. I hope the lights turn on soon with the tucked sit. Karen thinks we are almost there.

T-Time

Dreamer and I had a great training session tonight. We covered just about everything she's learned to date and had a lot of fun. We had been training with a mixture of praise, food, and toys, but she's so ridiculous about toys that she cannot think. I had this problem with my last Terv, so I decided to take the toys away until the end of our session. She's remarkably more attentive and patient without the hope and distraction of a toy break, and I make sure she gets lots of toy time after we work. She seems to look forward equally to both her training time and toy time.

Dreamer will spend the weekend with her best friend Panda while I escape to Austin for some relaxation and time away from work. I'd take Dreamer if the accommodations accepted pets, and I have to say that I miss her already. :( I'll be back to take her to our next obedience lesson on Monday. Until then, congrats to Nancy on her son's wedding from Dreamer and me!

Team in Training

Barb and I are now a team in training. We found out that we have the same goal: to show in Novice next spring. We met at the kennel club and had FUN working her GSD Jessie and Remy. Jessie is 19 months old and still acts puppy. Not as puppy as Remy, but puppy.
She has a problem with sit stays so I was able to help her with that. Remy, of course, has a problem with the zoomies when he is off lead, so she helped me with that and we both saw progress:)
She gave me a wonderful tip to help with straight fronts. She has attended several workshops (and teaches Open and Utility at the club) and says she uses an eclectic approach. I'm all for that. We both agreed that Remy does better on the figure 8 when I start to the left. (Gail thought I should start to the right, but what does Gail know?) Remy's long distance recall was wonderful today! He is coming in much straighter and not even thinking about zooming off to play with Jessie even when we put her on the side to distract him (she was practicing a sit stay). I just love training with friends!
We plan to ask a few other people to join us (Debbie) so that we have different dogs and more distractions. At one point, I put Remy in a crate so I could help her and Jesse with my undivided attention. HE DIDN'T WHINE! Sorry, I get excited about the little things.
We didn't use a lot of distractions today, but plan to add more as we go.
The best part was training in air conditioned comfort:)

Mad Women

I've had a hardcore Mad Men marathon lately, as I have to catch up on the first two seasons of this TV show before the new season starts on Sunday. Last night, I watched 5 (yes, 5) episodes of Mad Men. When I needed a break, I took Dreamer (who was attacking my leg with a toy in an act of total desperation) outside for a 10-minute lesson. She was charged up and ready to work. Karen constantly reminds me to talk to her, especially in a whisper. Dreamer LOVES to be whispered to! I try to mimic Karen's enthusiasm, which is tough in the heat and humidity, but I think it helps both Dreamer and me stay motivated. We'll do something fun that involves movement, like the Utility box, and then we'll do something static, like sits, downs, waits, etc. It seems to work. We've been good about training this week, and I think work will allow me to have normal evenings to spend with my mad Terv and Mad Men.

Agility and Humidity

Went to Debbie's to work on agility tonight in the humidity. It was miserable with the sweat streaming down my face and the gnats biting. But Remy made HUGE progress tonight. He is no longer afraid of the teeter; however he is being stubborn as hell on it! He just waits for the treats and if they aren't good enough, he waits longer! But at least we are past the fear. And the other problem area: the weave poles is coming along nicely. He did all 12 several times and only bailed just shy of the last two twice. The other times he pushed through hard and his footwork is coming. This is amazing progress that I didn't think would come this quickly. I am relieved. He did great on the jumps. He loves to jump! We didn't work much on obedience today - just a bit of heeling and a few short recalls to work on the fronts and finishes.

I'm Melting!

Armed with the trusty Frisbee as a toy reward and duck and potato treats, Remy and I took to the road in front of our house. We worked on heeling on and off lead and did a few recalls. After about 10 minutes, I noticed that my dog was melting...his head was hanging and his eyes were glazed. Whoops. We are not used to the heat! I happily ended the session and brought Mr. Remster in to cool down. Today is the first day I've used the air conditioner since June - can you believe that?
Looking ahead, I e-mailed the club member who teaches Open and asked if she would be teaching a class this winter. She said no because she doesn't like to drive the country roads in winter at night. She did suggest that we get together to train...hooray! So now I have a new training buddy for obedience like I do for agility! I'm a happy trainer:) We are going to polish in Novice and do some fun open work together. This is just like old times when I had friends to train with.

A Successful Weekend

This Tacara Terv Trainer has accomplished very little all weekend but has managed to train the Dreamer. We worked on Friday and Saturday and will also work today. No big breakthroughs to report except that Utility is a breeze and Novice sucks. Well, okay, that's not really a big breakthrough. Sigh. Right now, I'm settling for being happy about training at all. I felt bad missing a few days. Dreamer just loves to work, which is exciting and makes the boring parts of our training seem tolerable. I hope she continues to love working. I guess that will depend on how successful I am in making the time to work with her. I'll work on that.

Two More Years?

Dreamer and I finally trained again last night, after skipping two nights. She had so much fun and is so smart! I had my doubts about her brain power when she was younger, but she really is a smarty! I love how she catches on so quickly. She's a thinker, which makes my job both easy and hard. The hard part is her anticipating my next move, especially on those blasted tucked sits. We worked only a few minutes with her box last night because she's already getting the concept of staying in it, and she LOVES it. I'm amazed at how slow she can be to catch on to sits and downs but so fast to learn these Utility tricks. I don't blame her, though. Advanced tricks are always more fun than the basics. We'll keep plugging away at what's easy and hard, though. I cannot fathom waiting another two years to show her in obedience, but supposedly this method will have us ready for all three classes by then. That's even harder to fathom! I think the smarty is up for the challenge, don't you? We'll see if we can say the same about her handler...

Taking a Step Backward

Last night I took Remy to the dog club where I was subbing as assistant trainer. After being so great at the dog shows, he definitely took a step backward! He whined in his crate while we had puppy class (jealous I am sure). The cool thing is that no matter how far across the room I was, I could give him the down signal and he would down! I'm thinking about training in an open class this fall just to give him some new things to learn while we freshen up our heeling and recalls for novice.
I digress: after the puppy class was over, I took him out and baited him in front of the mirrors. It was just ok. I gaited him and it was terrific - no pacing.
Back into the crate he went during novice class. More whining. More wonderful signal downs. Out on the mats during breaktime, he heeled well and did a wonderful recall with an almost perfect sit. Then I had him on a sit stay and was working on his attention while I moved around, when out of the blue, Debbie shows up and gets him all riled up. I let the leash go because he was going in and out of her legs, jumping up and giving her kisses, etc. The next thing we knew, he had a case of the zoomies. Luckily, he didn't leave the ring (where the Novice dogs were seated with their owners), but raced around until we could finally step on his leash. Bad boy! One step forward, three steps backward....

Stacking Tip

I remembered you asking how to fix the "GSD" look. I think I know now! When Debbie was working with Remy to get him to stack better, she would say, "Fix it" and very gently touch or guide his errant paw with her toe to get him to move it into position. This is making a ton of sense to Remy and me. Now whenever a toe is out of place (front or back), I don't need to bend over at all. I just say, "Fix it" and give him a guided touch or push with my foot and he gets it! It's not going to come overnight, but we're getting there. I also think this will work so much better in the ring because it isn't as obvious as reaching down. I am using a tennis ball to get Remy to watch my hand as I lift his head and then drop it low to get him to arch his neck and hold it while I wait until I can praise for the perfect hold and then I flip the ball forward for him to catch. I alternate that with bait as I'm sure the judge will not think it is cool for me to have a tennis ball in the ring! I also toss the bait from my hand as a reward for the hold. It really keeps his attention since he never knows when I might toss. He's an expert catcher so this works with Remy; I'm not sure if Dreamer catches?
On our run today, I was able to catch Remy instantly when he paced and get him back to a trot. He is pacing less and less, so I am sure that Lynn's friend Robin was correct about training for muscle memory. (She gave me that tip when I went to Illinois and almost beat her dog out for winners).
Remy and I are headed back to Illinois for shows on Aug. 22 and 23. Those will probably be the last shows until November. I think we will have a better chance for more dogs/more points in Illinois than in Michigan. Eileen is showing Tower on the 23rd but we figured it's a win/win situation for both of us (unless of course we both get beat!). I don't think that will happen unless the judge hates our line.
I'll work with Remy on the mats at our club tonight when I go assist puppy and novice obedience. Progress report tomorrow.

Self Pity Party

This Tacara Terv Trainer is a little down today. Exhausted from life's many challenges:

• Too much work to do, too little people to help
• In need of a vacation with no scheduled time off in sight
• A Terv that won't eat much
• Tucked-sit problems from hell

Waaah! This morning, as I watched Dreamer losing interest a day after she got a new food, I thought, "Who cares? I am not going to fight this. If she won't eat and I cannot finish her because she cannot put enough weight on, then so be it." (I used a few more profanities than that, but I'll spare you.)

I talked to my obedience teacher about it on Sunday, and she said she's with me -- she wouldn't fight it. Don't doctor the food. The dog won't starve herself. Stop breeding pickiness. Dreamer will keep the weight on more easily when she gets older...and if Linda is right, Dreamer will just start magically eating someday.

So we're not going to fight this anymore. Or at least that's what I am saying today. Perhaps I'll feel differently whenever I have a chance to recharge my batteries. Until then, I shall whine louder than Dreamer does when left alone in the yard (which is really loud -- trust me on this).

Fried From Four Days of Showing

Remy and I are both pooped from 4 days of showing. We have been utterly lazy all day except for our usual grooming session (very relaxing for both of us) and 2 quick sessions of arching the neck while baiting. Debbie really worked with me this weekend on this and even though she was quite exasperated that we were slow to learn, she would be impressed with her pupils now. We practiced in front of a mirror and I definitely see what she is talking about. He looks drop dead gorgeous when I can get him to arch his neck!
I owe it to her that Remy is now 99% dependable about not pacing in the ring. She showed me how to "jump start" him into a trot. If I start out with my right leg, he trots. If I start out with my left leg, he paces. Interesting, isn't it?
I worked with Remy on the showgrounds a little each day in obedience - sometimes in the building where they had the obedience ring and sometimes outside of the conformation rings. He did well! I still want to hear about the popped sits from Tacara Terv Trainer.

Thinking Inside the Box

Dreamer and I had our first obedience lesson today since before the Oklahoma City shows. We had a 75-minute lesson, which is incredibly long for us, but we had some new ground to cover as well as some handler training errors to fix! I was very pleased with Dreamer's ability to pay attention for that long, though she was definitely fading in the end (as was her Tacara Terv Trainer!).

Today, we added the about turn as well as a few more steps to the Utility send away. I have to say that the footwork required for the turns (about and right are the only two we've learned so far) really trips up my mind! Karen had a good laugh as I struggled to get my footwork right on the about turn, which wasn't nearly as complicated as the right turn but certainly seemed harder for my brain to grasp.

On the send away, we started with a box made of PVC materials. We got Dreamer used to being in the box, and she wasn't scared of it at all -- probably because it was flush to the ground. The box helps Dreamer understand where she needs to be and how tight her turn-arounds need to be. She LOVES the box! We taught her how to get in and out of the box. Then we took one end off to use as an entrance and did the "To" that we love, using the box instead of the Frisbee as the target. Dreamer picked up on it immediately and had so much fun. She just loves her "To!" The box will be important for later steps, when we start doing hand signals from far away and Dreamer needs to stay in one confined place. 

The tucked sits are coming along, but I think we still have a bit of work to do. Dreamer anticipates the tuck and starts to sit (not in a tuck) before I can do anything. Smarty! Karen even had some challenges with her, and we troubleshooted. Lord. I am so sick of these tucked sits. But at least we are making progress, right?

It's good to be back in class. We'll have a mixture of old and new things to work on until our next lesson in two weeks. Time to think inside the box!