Jesus and the Dumbbell

It's been so hot, and I've lacked motivation to do much training lately. I'm burned out on dog shows and have needed a little downtime.

I decided to do one thing for obedience that could be accomplished in the air conditioning. Karen asked me to call Joe Feist, a guy in Ohio who is very well known for his custom-fit dumbbells and scent articles. I've seen so many of his dumbbells in Texas over the years. They really stand out. You can get your initials on one end of the dumbbell and an emblem that means something to your breed on the other end (like a sheep).

Karen had measured Dreamer for her dumbbell using the closest fit she could find, which was her boyfriend's Golden Retriever's dumbbell. We went a little shorter from there on the ends and also a little smaller on the diameter, but Karen advised me to take any advice Joe had to offer on the measurements. He's been doing this forever.

Karen warned me that Joe is a talker, so it took me some time to find an open window to call him about ordering a dumbbell. I had to block off an hour at work in the afternoon because Joe apparently talks your ear off for 45 minutes and only accepts calls in the afternoons (I'm not sure the latter part is true, but I followed Karen's advice).

Anyway, I finally called Joe, and he was a character! He said "Jesus Christ" every other word because he was trying to remember certain names, places, dates, and other information. We really only talked for about 20 minutes, but he was the nicest guy and seemed very experienced in his line of work. He almost seemed like Jesus because he does things old school. I'll send him a check first, and then he'll "fix me up," he says. I look forward to my first Joe Feist dumbbell and will post a photo when it comes in. My hope is that the custom-fit dumbbell eliminates a lot of problems I had with Legan -- especially the spinning she did with her dumbbell because it was really too big for her. Stay tuned for a religious dumbbell experience.

Seeker the Star

When Seeker and I got to agility class last night, I saw that Debbie had set the ring up for jumping. Since we can't really jump, I decided that I would join the puppy class on the other end of the building and work Seeker in obedience. That was a great plan! Seeker was a little star and the instructor explained to the people in the class that I was also an instructor and that they should watch me work with Seeker. So I demonstrated how I get down to her level with the treat or any leash guidance. I was glad to be of help because I basically just crashed the class and did my own thing. I would whip out her frisbee and play with her while she tugged and growled. She "gives" so well on command. I was able to keep her pumped and working because I kept giving her play breaks.
When they worked on their "stand" command, I had Seeker "stand pretty" and I was blown away by the fact that she did! She watched the bait and didn't move. I am so glad that I started early with her. It should make all the difference in the world. Next week I think I'll go before class starts and work on her movement in the ring. Maybe someone will help me out by pretending to be the judge.

The instructors then brought over a bar from a jump for the puppies to step over and the tippy board. Seeker demonstrated both of those things and then we left and went back to agility. By this time, Debbie and Kali had put a board on the ground as well as the small teeter so we worked on both of those things. She has been working on a board at home and doing well on a slight incline, so I thought I'd give the full teeter a try. She did great! The movement didn't bother her at all. (It's a very tiny teeter). It was so funny. She did great in obedience, but when we got back to the agility ring, she got her second wind! She loves it! And that was how she was able to concentrate for an hour. My little star:)

Starting Over

It seems so weird to be starting all over again training a puppy. Seeker is the hardest pup we've ever had to potty train. She just doesn't pee that often. So sometimes when we take her out, she doesn't go! It's very discouraging. And she has yet to stand by the door to indicate that she needs to go out. Pilot was trained by 10 weeks and yet he wasn't nearly as good as she was at other training. She is much easier to walk on lead. She's actually doing a very good job of loose leash walking.
I'm doing much more training for agility right off the bat than I did with Remy. Seeker is in a foundation agility class and she is doing quite well. I have found that she is very toy driven. She loves her small frisbee. It's easy to get her riled up and ready to work. She knows the commands "give" and "leave it" so getting it out of her mouth is easy. She loves to retrieve and we also use the frisbee as a target for agility work. Today she walked a board on the ground and then I put it on an incline leading up to our deck. She did great and is working hard on the "two feet on / two feet off" at the end of the board. She also goes to her tennis ball target and either touches it with her nose or her foot. So cute and so playful! She is learning to catch the frisbee and doesn't mind if it hits her if she misses. She is amazingly cool about loud sounds. At class when other dogs are barking or there is some disturbance, she looks, but doesn't really react. Today we walked right by the garbage truck and she did fine! I have yet to see her really startle. She is more brave around the vacuum cleaner than Pilot is and I find that very amusing!
We're also working on conformation using the mirror that Maggie gave me. She sometimes gets confused and sits, but we're working on "stand pretty" and "wait" for the bait. It's coming. Because she doesn't get rattled, she should show well in noisy venues. We'll see.
3 months old yesterday and she's doing a good job of worming her way into our hearts.