Sitting Pretty

I'm almost afraid to put it in writing, but I think our precious little Dreamer might actually be starting to pop into her tucked sits! Who knew? We had a good training session tonight with lower temperatures and lower humidity. We worked on a variety of things, but the sits were what I noticed the most. Despite sits and other Novice tricks being excruciatingly boring, I'm excited about our progress. Yay! I'll be even more excited to hear about Remy's results at the shows this weekend. It sounds like he is ready to show off. Go get 'em, Remy!

WIMP!

Dreamer and I have mountains to climb in the evenings. Once I finally climb down from my pile of work, I start the uphill evening hike: The bike ride, dinner for people and pets, and dog training. Time (daylight) is of the essence. Tonight, the humidity from recent rains was killing me. I was not interested in training the Dreamer. I remembered what my trainer once told me: "Just get out there and train. Tell yourself you're just going to do sits." We got out there and probably spent less than five minutes training. I was sweating bullets and trudging along the whole time. It was better than nothing, I suppose, but I was disappointed in my wimpiness! We'll attempt a new climb tomorrow.

Bring It ON!

Remy and I are ready for the shows! Our hard work is paying off.
I got a call to sub as an assistant for obedience classes at our club tonight. I took Remy and put him in the crates they keep for the instructors. He was pretty good...a bit whiny at times, but getting better.
During the break between the puppy class and the novice class, I tried gaiting him around the ring using my new method. Lo and behold, it worked! We tried 3 times and 3 times he trotted happily! I rewarded the heck out of him and put him back in the crate.
When the instructor gave the novice class a potty break, I took Remy out and heeled him around. He was so excited to be out and working! He heeled like I have never seen him heel before. All of a sudden I realized that everyone was back and waiting in the chairs to start class and every eye was on us! Whoops!
What a great productive tonight. We are ready to show....BRING IT ON!

How Many Pollacks Does it Take to Get the Lightbulb to Light Up?

I haven't heard back from Linda concerning my question about the tight circle. I was on the phone with Lynn today and we were brainstorming about how to get Remy to trot from a standstill. We came up with the idea that if I face his head toward the inside of the "ring" and then jerk his legs out from under him toward me, I might knock him off balance and get him trotting right off the bat. Lo and behold it works! We decided that the judge is going to think I am an idiot (or a pure novice), but better to start Remy out on the right foot than spend half the route around the ring trying to get him to stop pacing.
And so the lightbulb continues to flicker. Now I look forward to seeing if tomorrow I can get it to burn steadily and brightly.

When It Rains, It Pours

Well, it's looking like rain all week here. I hope we can catch a break at some point to do some training, even if it's just a few minutes in the back yard. It's rare that we get storms here in July, and we need the rain, but it's not conducive to dog training.

On the bright side, our instructor finally called me today and admitted that she was hiding out over the weekend. She had just finished four weekends of dog shows. I can't say that I blame her for taking a weekend off. Anyway, our next lesson is this Sunday. Yay! Back to school we go!

Cramming for Conformation

We worked in a small space on our driveway about the size of a show ring. My command is, "Ready? Trot." If Remy started out pacing, I would give him the correction to the side to throw him off balance and start him trotting. I had a long day driving / talking with relatives at Mark's uncle's 90th birthday party so my patience was short and I'm sure Remy could feel it.
I released him for a bit and he got the zoomies big time. After he ran it off, we tried again and he did much better. I think, but I'm not sure, I saw the lightbulb beginning to flicker. Tomorrow's lesson will tell.
I'm probably going to give him a break from obedience this week while we cram for conformation.

Storming Through Our Training

It's been one of those steamy summer days in Texas: 100 degrees, burning sun, and the life totally sucked out of you. Dreamer and I spent most of the day indoors, waiting for projected rain to come cool us off. It never came. About 30 minutes ago, I took Dreamer outside for a training session and just forced myself to find the energy to power through some heeling, sit-waits, downs, right turns, changes of pace, tucked sits (which are getting noticeably better), here, and around-finishes. I was pretty happy with how quickly we covered a lot of ground, and then we played in the yard afterwards for an equal amount of time.

Now we're back in the house, and suddenly there's a black cloud over us. Lots of thunder. A little lightning. Little did we know that a storm was brewing while we stormed through our training! 

Agility Potluck

Remy, Mark, and I went to Debbie's house last night to celebrate a beautiful summer evening with a potluck and agility training. Mark got to see firsthand how pumped Remy gets around other dogs running agility. The more experienced dogs went first (there were probably 12 dogs in all) and Remy got more and more agitated as time went by while we waited and watched. So I took him over to the side and threw the frisbee for him and played tug. Everyone was commenting on his drive, energy, and beauty:)
When it came time for his turn, I saw such progress! He knows the 2 on 2 off for the a-frame, he raced over the dog walk with no hesitation (victory!), he is getting a rhythm in the weave poles (and is fast - I can hardly keep up), did the full chute with no problem, continues to love the tunnel, did well with his "here's", jumped on command, and continues to try to master the teeter. He now gets on quickly and goes to the center, but needs encouragement to rock it. We no longer hold it for him. He learns so fast...I am so lucky!
I'm also the only one who bursts off things and keeps him very hyped as we train. Thank you, Lynn. Everyone else trains too laid-back. Thanks to Lynn I know to keep him pumped and eager to retain his speed.

To the Heat of the Day

Dreamer and I had a training session in the back yard this afternoon. It was probably 98 degrees in the shade, but it was really the only time I had to seize a training opportunity. We did her "to" exercise -- the first part of the utility go-out -- first. It's amazing to me how she loves the "to" and never forgets it. We rarely work on it because she's definitely got it down. I love the drive she has, even when it's too hot outside. She'll start turning around when I lead her away from her "to" target because she's eager to race to her treat, pick it up, and race back to me. We both love this exercise! So here's "to" the heat of the day -- well, to a fun training session in the heat, anyway.

Mixed Training Bag

After our run this morning, I found a plank in our shed and I used it to make my own teeter totter. First I had Remy walk across the board flat on the driveway. Then I put a piece of wood under it to serve as a fulcrum. I walked across it first and let it bang down on the driveway. Then I used his frisbee with a food target and over Remy went! I'll keep building up the height and see if it helps at our next agility session.
I went to conformation class and Remy was great about baiting and stacking, but still has issues with pacing at times. It proved that I have to work him in tight spaces and keep giving the command. I'm glad I went.
During the break, I worked on obedience on the mats. He did great! I ran him through a whole routine on and off lead with figure 8, and sits and downs. He's a good boy when he has a piece of food luring him on:)

Agility Week 2

Remy started whining as soon as we drove into the yard where our class is held. He remembered the fun! He settled down much more quickly this week . I had a tab on his collar for control, so I took him off lead each time I released him for an obstacle. He did great until we did the chute and there were 2 people holding it up for him. When he exited the chute and didn't find me, he decided to get the zoomies. Around and around he went, flying by the other dogs, trying to get them to play and resisting all attempts to be caught. He finally went to one lady and her Sheltie who offered him a treat and she grabbed his tab. Bad boy!
He did fine the rest of the night but had some trouble with the teeter since we allowed it to move a bit and that scared him.
At the end of class, the instructor (Anne) came up to me and said, "He is going to be a great agility dog and it's a good thing you are so nimble that you can keep up with him."
After class, Debbie and another instructor and I decided to meet on Saturday night at Debbie's house for a potluck/training session. My dreams come true: new friends who love to train:)
I'm going to have to be careful or Debbie's prediction will come true: I'll get so hooked on agility, I'll give up obedience.

Making the Call

Okay, unlike my Terv, I have no drive! I forced myself to train her for about ten minutes in the back yard tonight, and she had a blast. She loves to work. We didn't do anything eventful. I just feel like we've lost our groove without having a lesson to shoot for. If I've got my weekends correct, our obedience instructor is done with dog shows...so I'm going to call her tomorrow to see if we can schedule a lesson this weekend.

What a Cheese!

For obedience work today, I decided that I need to make heeling off lead almost as much fun as agility. We just worked in the yard. The birthday boy loves string cheese, so that was my motivator. He heeled like a champ off lead and came straight in on the recall even though my hands were at my sides because the cheese was in my mouth:)
It was a pleasant, short session for the birthday boy.

ABC = Agility Builds Camaraderie

I went to Debbie's house to work on agility in her yard. What fun! We agreed that she would help me with Remy and I would help with two of her GSDs: 18 month old sister and brother. We had a ball! Remy did much better on the dog walk, loved the A-frame, tried to learn to weave, and was introduced to the totter. As I suspected, he was unsure. We introduced it in a nice, gentle way and held it for him as it rocked down. We're going to give him plenty of time on that apparatus! We also did a 2 jump sequence and this is where he was a star. He times the distance well and really tucks his legs and sails through the air. We even had him go full height once. He's always flying on and off our deck which is just as high, so I didn't worry about it hurting him considering we were on grass.
He loves agility so much that when I say, "Remy, here" he usually comes right to me. When we got home, he kept coming up to me and giving me kisses as if to say, "Mom, thank you!"
Debbie predicts that he will be such a good agility dog and I will have so much fun with it, I'll never compete in obedience. I hope that she is correct about the first part of that statement, but I would sure love to take him as far as possible in obedience, provided he enjoys it.

Super Saturday!

Today was such a great day. I got to sleep in and cuddle with my puppy while he's still a puppy:(
We went for a walk/run and he did awesome with the "trot" command. Whenever he would break into a pace, or start out pacing, I wouldn't allow him the reward of running. I think he's getting it! I cannot do anything about the fact that he paces when he walks. Hopefully he'll grow out of that. The best news is that even at the end of the run when he was getting tired, I could still get him to trot:)
I hadn't intended to do any obedience training on this outing, but we came across a very brazen cat who was sitting alongside the road and was not at all intimidated by Remy. This made Remy insane! He wanted to get at that cat in a big way. So I decided to try heeling him past the cat. No luck...Remy's attention was fully focused on the cat. I gave him a few corrections that yielded not much response, so rather than have things deteriorate, (I had no treats to help refocus him), I decided to have him do a sit stay. His stays are currently his most successful exercise (probably because of the time we put into them when I had the problem). I put his back to the cat and pivoted out in front of him. He kept turning to look at the cat. I kept commanding, "Watch Me!" When I saw him focus completely on me, I praised him to the heavens and rewarded him with a run forward. He rewarded me with complete and utter adoration - cat forgotten.
The rest of our run was awesome. Several dogs came after us (with several owners in tow yelling at them) but Remy is getting much better at ignoring them or at least waiting quietly at my side until the dog is collected.
After lunch, we did errands. I took him to Petsmart to look for treats for his agility class friends. No Frosty Paws, but we found a cute platter of fake cookies. He was wonderful at Petsmart - made several new friends without pulling or jumping on people.
Outside of Petsmart, I worked on his heeling and attention with food. Pretty good with all the distractions. Much more of this type of proofing will be needed before we show.
Last errand: Mark had bought chicken dinner fundraiser tickets from a neighbor and asked me to pick up the dinners. When I got to the church parking lot, there was a long line. Lynn had suggested that I get Remy out to busy places with a lot of people more often, so I got him out of the car and into the line. I was shocked at his behavior! He was very animated and alert, but also very much in control. People came up to pet him and he wagged his tail furiously, but didn't jump up on them. We had to wait 15 minutes and he was such a good boy in line! Maybe someday he WILL be calm enough to be a therapy dog. I hope so: he is so loving and could bring much joy to sick people.
I'm sure the smell of the chicken dinners drove him crazy on the ride home; poor puppy. But luckily he has an owner who doesn't eat dark meat, so he got some yummy chicken and baked potato mixed in with his food tonight. I'm sure he would agree that this was a Super Saturday.

Back in the Yard

Dreamer is showing no signs of sickness now, and I decided to do a little training with her tonight in the back yard. It's amazing how quickly I can forget what we're working on...and here I'm worried about what she remembers! She did very well, but I can't wait until our instructor is back and ready to schedule another lesson. We need to go back to school! For now, I'm just glad to be back training at all, even if it's in the back yard.

Gail's Pole Barn

I took Remy to Gail's pole barn to train. I warmed him up and then put all the food away and had her run me through a novice pattern just to see where he is at. He did quite well on lead and the off lead wasn't too bad. It's definitely coming. The recall was good, but he didn't sit in front, so that showed me that I have to wean him off what I have been doing with my hands to get him to come in. (remember how he used to fly past me?). The stand was ok - he moved a bit when his back end tail wagging knocked him off balance!!! His sits and downs were great. He's getting there. I am going to start proofing him around strong distractions, especially when I am at the 4 day show at the end of the month.
I also worked on informal "here's" while Gail had a toy that distracted him. It was so cool to watch the light bulb go on when he finally tuned in to me.
I ran Gail through the Novice pattern and that was that. A good practice for both dogs.
I'm thinking about going to agility class early next week and working him in obedience before we start. That way his reward will be agility. I think he'll like that.

Remy and Nancy Attend Agility Class

I found out our club had offered agility class this summer on Wednesday nights from 6-7. Since I'm new to the club, no one told me about it. But I had e-mailed my obedience instructor to ask. The classes are held at the farm of my puppy instructor. What a beautiful setting! Mr. Remy was wild when we got there and pulled me all over. I had to calm him down and hush him up. Once class started, he was just fine and he loved almost every minute of class. I can definitely say that he likes agility more than obedience. He watched the other dogs and learned quickly. We had to help him over the dog walk because he wasn't quite sure where his back legs were at all times!! By the 3rd time through, he was quite confident. He really had trouble with the chute, but again, once he figured it out, the light bulb went on and then he couldn't wait to do it again! We did not do the teeter.
Just as in obedience class, the puppy instructor was unclear with her directions so my obedience instructor, Debbie, was the one who helped me get Remy to love the chute and the dog walk. I'm going to keep looking to her for advice. She knows a ton about agility and has many more titles than the puppy instructor.
One dog kept coming after Remy and for the first time ever, Remy growled! As the class went on, he kept avoiding the dog. I like the fact that he won't start a fight, but he will defend himself if needed.
It was interesting to watch Remy attack each obstacle compared to the other dogs. He had way more drive and desire than any dog out there. It was so fun to watch his wheels turning and the light bulb go on when he figured something out.
By the time the class was over, Remy was tired! AGILITY IS THE BEST!

Off Lead = Out of Control

I'm finding it frustrating that Remy does not behave off lead. I know I'm being impatient here, but it would be so nice to gain off lead control of Remy. I took him to the dog park today. As soon as he jumped out of my car, he was "woofing" at the other dogs. I put a stop to that. He then started his usual lunging toward the fence and the other dogs. I had to be quite stern to get him to stop that. Lynn knows that he just gets so excited around other dogs! I had a bag of treats and we practiced a ton of "heres" to get him to pay attention to me and not the other dogs. It took awhile, but he finally came around. I let him drag his lead while I worked on "here". He sometimes responded and sometimes didn't. GRRRR! Once he was more calm, I rewarded him by taking him into the play area. There are a series of 3 gates you go through. I made him wait at each gate and never let him blow past me. He did well:) I was very happy watching him play with the other dogs. He thought about humping one female dog, but he didn't....success! He then played well with the other dogs. The only disappointment: when it was time to leave, he wouldn't come to me. Rome wasn't built in a day, right, Shawn?

Grooming 101

Well, my local Terv friends have spoken about the grooming party. We'll have Grooming 101 at Cynthia's house, provided Dreamer is well, on August 1st. Stay tuned for grooming tips. Cynthia says Dreamer will be the subject. I guess that means she thinks my baby looks like a rag and needs the most help! 

Cynthia takes grooming very seriously. Today, she said that Tervs are groomed like Shelties with the exception of the ears. This is the book she uses as a guide, and she takes it with her to all shows so that she doesn't forget anything:

http://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Guide-Sheltie-Grooming-Barb/dp/093186660X

It's illustrated, people! I might pick one up and use it as a study guide prior to class. I hope this is a remedial class because I know nothing about grooming.

Trot Little Boy, Trot

I took Remy for a run/walk tonight and his reward to be able to run was that he had to trot. I used a courtesy turn every time we started and it seemed to work well. He sure can trot fast! I can barely keep up with him! Of course, I'm not in race shape, so that's not saying too much.
There is no way I am going to stop him from pacing when we walk. I just found out that Koda paces when Donna goes slowly in rally or agility. She told me that Linda makes her "walk briskly" so that Koda doesn't pace. Ahh, like father, like son.
I also did a bit of heeling and a few recalls in a very distracting area where we usually see deer. Remy did fine once I laid the law down that he had to pay attention.

What the Hack?

Well, Dreamer murdered a soft toy on Friday night and spent most of the evening hacking. It's like she was trying to get a piece of toy out of her throat. I opened her mouth and stuck a flashlight inside. Nothing. I figured I just couldn't see it and she would hack it up sooner or later.

Overnight, she hacked so much that I realized we were past the "object lodged in throat" phase. I took her into the vet on Saturday morning, who was pretty confident that she had kennel cough -- especially after hearing that Dreamer had been to a dog show the previous week. We got fixed up with drugs and cough suppressants. Dreamer is no worse for the wear, but we can't go anywhere to train since kennel cough is contagious. This Tacara Terv Trainer might not be posting much except a few boring reports from the back yard.

Here's To Remy!

Mark and I took Remy for a walk this morning. He begged to go down by the water to chase the waves. It's about 100 feet of sandy tree-lined path to get there from the road. I took off Remy's leash and Mark commented, "I thought you weren't going to do that anymore in case there are fishermen on the dock". I replied, "I've been working on calling him back close to me even when he's very excited. This is a great place to train him for that." Mark was very impressed as Remy would race ahead and then turn back and race toward us each time I said "Remy, here!"
He's a good boy! His reward: herding the waves.

Happy for Dreamer

I can't believe that I let three days pass before I got back into training Dreamer for obedience. I guess the dog shows wore me out. Due to an incredible heat wave, we had to start our lesson late and keep it very short tonight. Dreamer merrily did her tricks and got to play afterwards. She's happy with any activity that comes her way.

Our biggest challenge right now is noise sensitivity. Noises don't scare Dreamer, but they are what is most important to her. When she hears a noise, she is on high alert and has to turn toward it to listen and focus all of her attention on it. In the ring, I cannot bait her back to me if she hears a noise that interests her. I talked to Linda about this during the OKC shows, and she said that I need to teach Dreamer what "Happy" means. So when she's having fun playing, I need to teach her a word associated with fun. Then, the next time she's  distracted, I say, "Happy" to get her back. Essentially, I need to be happy for her. We are going to work on this for our shows in the fall.

Practicing Informal "Here's"

I took Remy to Essexville today while I taught summer tennis camp. After I played a match with friends, I took him for a walk and worked on his sit stays when dogs or people walked by. He freaked one lady out. I put him on a stay and she just stopped and wouldn't come past him on the sidewalk even though I had him on the grass. Have you ever noticed that some people are afraid of Tervs? I had to explain to her that I was just training him and not putting him there because he would bite her!
I passed another lady who said, "Nice Terv". That surprised me that she knew the breed and she said she is an obedience instructor.
He passed the little kid test by not jumping on the little kid who wanted to pet him.
I then took him by the tennis courts and let him run dragging his leash while I worked on "Remy, here!" He did quite well even from a distance and even when he wanted to go chase the tennis balls which were hitting the fence. His formal recalls for obedience are great; now we need to keep working on informal recalls that can save his life and are needed for the agility ring. So far so good. The Remster got a good workout and as I type, he is lying at my feet with a tennis ball between his feet:)

Dillon learns to play

Dillon learned how to play with a big dog this weekend. Up until now, he only had his Cavalier King Charles sister Boo! to play with. They tug and Dillon puts his mouth over her head, but that's it. My older Terv Cedar just chases Dillon down and makes him run into the bushes to get away. So, he wasn't sure what to do when dogs his size tried to play with him. He was tentative at first, but after Remy stoped humping him they got to playing really nice! I have to get the video edited and send it to you both!

Remy the Rapist Learns His Lesson

I resorted back to the Koehler Method of the throw chain this weekend to get Remy to stop humping Dillon and just play like a brother instead of a gay brother. It worked like a charm.

National Team Competition

Lynn and I talked this weekend about how they have team competition in obedience at the National. Are you up for this, Shawn? How cool would it be for littermates to make up a team? All we would need is one more dog: Pink, Tower, Oakley?

God Loves a Terrier

Dreamer and I did a little training in the back yard again tonight. It was still 101 degrees after the sun went down, and I didn't want my delicate little flower to wilt the night before the dog show. 

Now we're inside, and I need to groom Dreamer for our 8:00 AM ring time tomorrow. Ack! We will probably get there around 6:00 or so to acclimate and settle down. Not looking forward to that, but maybe we'll still be asleep while we're showing and won't realize what's going on until we're done. That would be nice.

I have popped Best In Show into the DVD player, and it is really making me laugh! The people with the Norwich Terrier are singing "God Loves a Terrier." I had really forgotten just how silly this movie is, and I look forward to grooming Dreamer while watching it. I hope I get some grooming done, anyway! Have fun this weekend, my Tacara Terv family!

Dillon back in class

Dillon went back to agility class for the first time since his injury. He's not showing any signs of it anymore, and even his chiropractor said he is 95% healed now. His tail was tucked under at first, and he wanted to tug, but he was a little more distracted than usual all night. He did some jumps and tunnels and some of the easier stuff. I did not let him do the weave poles though. I thought that would put too much torque on his arm. He was skiddish around the dog walk, which is the obstacle he fell off of when he got hurt. We did the "bottom" on the dog walk though and he seemed fine with that. At one point he ran to the elevator (to leave) and I just sat down on the agility field and called him. He came back willingly and I just played with him and gave him treats. I think we'll be okay, I just have to keep going and work through this. He had a very bad scare and a lot of pain, so it will take time. He sees his vet on July 9th for his checkup. I'm sure he'll be in great shape to play with Remy this weekend!

Trying to Tire the Terv

It's my goal to tire the Terv this week so that maybe, just maybe, she'll behave in the ring this weekend. Last night, I took Dreamer to a friend's land and let her run herself ragged. She had such a good time darting around in circles at lightning speed! There were lots of distractions, but all we really practiced was "here" on the Flexi, which is a command she definitely understands. My baby knows something! Yay.

Tonight, I trained Dreamer in the back yard and that's as far as I got. I'm going to take her to work with me tomorrow, and that should put a dent in her energy level...and mine! Since puppies are so resilient, I have no idea if my strategy of tiring the Terv will work. All I can do is hope.