My Puppyhood Tales!

Yes, it's time again for another puppy video! I got several really cute ideas for what to call this series from Sara, Lian, and Ludo - thanks! - and just decided to go with Sara's "puppyhood tales."

It's funny because when I thought about doing this, mom assured me that we had lots of video of me when I was growing up. But now that we started looking at it, it's true we have quite a bit of video but it is mostly bad! You know, poor lighting, boring activity, stupid commentary (mostly goofy stuff mom says in the background), etc. Where are the early videos of me learning tricks and obedience stuff and going to obedience classes? I think even though mom and dad bought a video camera specifically to document my puppy days, they didn't do a good job at all!!!!

Any way, today's video clip is of my first time walking on a leash! I was about 8 1/2 weeks old. You can see that mom's leash-holding technique left a lot to be desired, but I think I was doing pretty well! Listen for the bird singing in the neighborhood - it was a white-throated sparrow!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

tRicky T-Day!

It is still a t-day here in Ohio (just barely) and I wanted to post a video of some of my tricks just to show you that we are still working on some of them and learning some new ones and also getting better at some old ones! (run on sentence)

Oh and by the way, I was a good boy at class last night and didn't sniff once during the sequences we practiced! Mom was very happy with that!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Another Autumn Walk

Last Monday we went for a walk at another one of my favorite parks! There is a pet trail that goes through the woods and down to a creek. There was no one else there so we had the whole place to ourselves! We couldn't have asked for a nicer day!

When we set out I had to encourage mom and dad to get going - they are so slow sometimes! See the big sycamore tree leaves on the ground?

The sky was blue and the maple tree leaves were so yellow and pretty against the blue sky.

I jumped right up on this log and started walking it like a dogwalk.

Looking down the creek and then up:

Mom liked the tree roots:

Nearing the end of the trail:

Pondering the great outdoors:

Yesterday we went for a walk at the cemetery - we hadn't been there in a long time. I had fun but mom got annoyed with me because I kept running too far ahead and didn't come when she called me. So we didn't stay there long........

Today mom took me to the park really close to our house and I was much better and listened to her so we got to walk around for quite a long time! I know it pays to behave!

We are really savoring these nice weather days because we are afraid that there won't be many more of them until spring!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Last night's agility class

So after all our hard work at making agility fun and fast, I went to class last night and poked around and sniffed every darn leaf on the floor because I was SURE it was food. I kind of did the agility sequences but I was very distracted. Mom tried not to let me know, but I could tell she was frustrated and also disappointed in me. She wants to know how long it's going to take before I am consistently faster and happier and focused doing agility out in the world like I am in my own backyard!

Seriously though, in this re-creation of the floor from class, can you spot the food versus not food:

In my defense, it's not that easy to tell is it? You can see my dilemma then at class! And the leaves looked just like the one in the photo! So I ate the food to show you which was which:

Gotta zoom (mom says I should change this to "gotta sniff" but I think that just plain mean!)

Ricky

New series of old videos

Mom and I want to start something new - we have been going back and watching some of my puppy videos and editing them into smaller clips - and we want to share them with you from time to time when nothing else terribly exciting is going on. But we need a name for this - maybe Sara (she comes up with stuff all the time like "then and now" or "everyday life series") or Ludo (who of course came up with Tricky T-Day, etc.) can think of a name? Or can anyone else? And we'd like it if other's joined in the new series - we would love to see videos of puppies doing puppy stuff. This might help mom's puppy-itis or it might make it worse (hopefully not)!

So here is the first installment! I see a comb for the first time in my young life - I was only 8 1/2 weeks old and weighed around 4 lbs. I think I was very brave!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Agility for fun in the leaves!

Lately when we practice agility in the backyard it's for fun and speed! Mom puts out my food target for the first few jumps and then she takes it away. I know I still look slow in the video, but I swear I am running faster (if you were here, you would see it!).

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

My Neighborhood

The trees in our neighborhood are absolutely gorgeous this year! So mom brought her camera along when we went for our walk this morning - here are our attempts at trying to get photos of the beautiful fall colors right outside our door!















The photos just don't do it all justice - every where you look there is another spectacular display. Unfortunately it doesn't last long. Yesterday's wind brought a lot of leaves down and soon you won't be able to see the yards, sidewalks or streets because they'll be completely covered with fallen leaves. But for now it's like a fantasy land!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

My visit with Wilson

I had a good time visiting my cousin Wilson on Wednesday and Thursday of this week! Mom and I left early and drove two hours to Wilson's house. We wanted to get there early to make the most of the day - the weather was beautiful - sunny and 70. After all the cold and rain, we were all really happy to be outside!

First of all aunt Laura took us to a new park with some very good trails that go through the woods and around ponds. Silly mom forgot her camera! After that we went home and had lunch outside on the patio. Here I am pretending to chill on the patio:

Then we headed off to another park. This one I had been to several times but we always have fun there. The only problem is the trail around the lake starts off next to a busy road. Even though I saw that Wilson didn't care about the cars, I still had a hard time not barking at them and lunging at them. Mom doesn't have fun at this park until we get well away from the road.

Here are my aunt and Wilson getting ready to go:

Mom made me and Wilson pose (I think aunt Laura said something to us about treats and Wilson totally fell for it!):

Another forced pose:

Wilson has a big tongue:

The weather was so nice that Wilson got a bath (I would laugh but mom made me get a bath on Tuesday so I really knew how he felt):

My cousin Jeff turns 11 today and we celebrated with him on Wednesday. He had an all Wii birthday!

My cousin Meredith (she's 8) just got her braces off:

Wilson and I like each other but we're guys and don't want to show it:

We went for a walk at the park with the lake on Thursday morning too. Then after lunch mom and I drove back home. I was exhausted. I like to go there to visit but I never really relax when I am around Wilson. Oh, I almost forgot, - Wilson hurt his foot - he ripped his dew claw - and so he and I couldn't play our game of fetch where he runs to get the ball and I run after him and bark like a maniac. That's our favorite thing to do together. Maybe next time.

Thanks aunt Laura and Wilson for such a good visit!

Gotta zoom,

Ricky

Autumn Walk

Mom and dad took me to my favorite metro park yesterday for a walk and a chance to see some fall foliage! The sky was blue and the sun was warm! Don't get too excited about these pictures though. They're not very good!






Tomorrow I am going to visit my cousin Wilson! I saw him a few times over the summer when he was at grandma and grandpa's, but I haven't been to his house in a long time. I don't think I told you but we lost my cousin Sandy very unexpectedly in June. She and Wilson were visiting at my grandparents' and Sandy collapsed! My aunt and uncle took her to the emergency vet right away and the vet said it was cancer and that they probably couldn't get her stabilized enough for surgery and if they could, surgery would not prolong her life for long. So Sandy crossed over the bridge that very afternoon. It was so sad and shocking that I couldn't write about it at the time. So when we visit Wilson tomorrow, it will be our first time there without Sandy and we will really miss her!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

WooHoo!!

We had a great day yesterday! Grandma got here about 7:30 and we left. It only took a little over an hour to get to the trial site - not a bad drive at all. Of course, grandma and mom talked the whole way and kept me awake! This trial was held at a fieldhouse/fitness center. The standard ring was in one room and the jumpers ring was in another (so it made for a quieter atmosphere). I ran my Open JWW run first at 10:00AM. We didn't get a video of it (sorry) but the course map is below. Mom liked the course because she could do a lot of front crosses and keep me motivated. As a matter of fact, she was a front-crossing fool! She did a FC between #2 and #3, #5 and #6, #7 and #8, and #12 and #13! (Click to bigify so you can see what we're talking about!) But it worked! I ran fast and happy! Mom was completely winded when we finished - she's a wimp! Standard course time (SCT) was 44 and my time was 37.22. I ended up Q'ing and getting first place and getting my Open title!! Hurray on to EX A JWW!

Ok, then the big wait! Mom had high hopes that this would be a short trialing day but we waited 4 1/2 hours for our STD run! Grandma was good company though and we also talked to some of our agility friends. And it was cool in the building (cold mom says) which helped me out a lot. I had a little nap in the car but spent most of my time just hanging with mom and grandma. Finally it was my turn to run again! We got video this time but we're also including the course map. Having a couple jumps at the beginning and then a tunnel was good for me to get going. Mom made sure she slowed down and got me on the aframe (no sniffing!) and then I strutted very proudly over the dogwalk (I love the dogwalk now!) and also sat proudly on the table (also no sniffing!). Then mom got very animated and sent me into the chute (I did my fastest-ever-at-a-trial chute!) and then fast-for-me weaves and then mom was worried about the tunnel/DW discrimination so she slowed down to make sure I went into the tunnel and then we were home free!

So I got my first Open STD Q and placed 2nd! SCT was 77 and my time was 64:43 - well under SCT! Yay!! I had a really fun time doing agility with mom yesterday. Seems like our hard work is starting to pay off!

Here I am in the obligatory pose with the ribbons and toys. Mom loved the green title ribbon and I loved the toys!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Wednesday class, cold weather, tRicky T-Day, and a Friday trial

What happened to October - blue skies, pretty leaves, indian summer, dry air? We have skipped October this year and gone straight to November - rainy, cold, windy, gray. I don't mind it that much although we don't go outside like we used to. But mom is whining about the bad weather all day long!

Last night we went to our Wednesday agility class (we missed last week because mom had to rehearse Beethoven #9 - whatever that means). We ran a full course last night - and it included the chute which is always very good practice for me. Since our last real post we have been practicing with the target and getting me to take off at the start. And we have been practicing short sequences (three or four obstacles). Mom is trying to keep practices short and fun and not daily and she tries not to let me know I did anything wrong (that's the hardest thing for her - she STILL catches herself making me redo something from time to time)! It seems to have paid off because I ran pretty fast and happy last night. I even did my fastest away- from- home chute! By the end of the course, mom forgot where she was supposed to go but we just kept running fast and she let me do whatever jumps I wanted. I was super excited when we finished and I got lots of chicken to prove how well I did!

After the run-thru we split up into two groups and did smaller portions of the course. I was still happy until my second-to- last go - I came out of a tunnel really fast and caught sight of another dog out of the corner of my eye. I took my mind off what I was doing for a second and flew at a jump and slipped and knocked the bar. It spooked me a little - mom checked to see that I was ok and then put me back in the tunnel and I finished the sequence. Then when we tried our last little exercise, I refused the aframe and mom stopped me and had me do it again (see, I told you she forgets and makes me redo stuff!!!) I did it the second time. But mom, always the worrier, is hoping that getting spooked won't have a lasting effect on me.

Today is tRicky T-Day so we put together a little video showing my new cane tricks! And there is bonus footage of my stand in the corner trick - mom stands farther away from me now and just says, "Corner" and off I go. We are trying to generalize the behavior to other corners but it's not working yet!

Tomorrow we are traveling a little more than an hour to a trial at a new location for us. It's another artificial turf surface place. Since the barn where we used to trial is still not usable, we are forced to seek out other opportunities. Well, an hour is not a very long drive. Grandma is going to go with us to keep mom company. She has never been to an agility trial but she loves dogs and we think she's going to have a great time! The schedule looks good for us too - I run my Open JWW at 10:00 and then just have to wait for Open STD but we think I may get to run that around noon. That would be great!! So our goal for tomorrow is to blast off from the start line and to run happy (with no sniffing before obstacles!!).

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

We're still here

Here I am when I was young and barky (now I'm older and barky)!

Sorry we haven't been posting but we will soon! Lack of inspiration, I guess.....

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Still looking for answers

These days mom has really been pondering the question of how to make me a faster agility dog. After my slow starts at our last trial and then a pretty slow and ho-hum class last Wednesday, mom is looking for advice! Seems like the magic meatballs are not so magic any more. Don't get me wrong - I still like them! But they don't always motivate me. I am super fast when mom gets me to lose my mind. I don't do that very often when I know it's time to do agility because I treat agility like a job that I should do and do correctly. That's just the way I am! So mom experiments with trying to get me to do tricks before a sequence (or even just a jump) but I won't do it because it's time for agility. Or she tries to get me to tug and I won't - same reason.

Then mom started thinking about things that excite me (mail, paper towels, keys) and she made a toy out of rolled up paper. I had never seen such a thing and got so excited we practiced for awhile without treats and with me going very fast to "get the paper"! When mom tried to use treats and the paper, I wouldn't have anything to do with the paper.

Yesterday mom found some articles about agility online at Front and Finish (THE obedience magazine like CleanRun is THE agility magazine). She read a couple about speeding up dogs. Here is an excerpt about using a target to teach a dog to blast-off from the start line (please forgive the informal method of quoting and giving credit to the source - it's been a long time since senior english class):

"If you decide that running with your dog from the start line is best, then

train your dog for a blast-off start. The best way to do this is by

using a target. Place a target, such as a plastic lid, in front of

your dog. Put a treat on the target and hold the dog back until

he is squirming to get free and pick up the treat. Give your dog

a take-off command such as "Ready, set, go!". Release your dog

and let him eat the treat from the target. Gradually increase

the distance that your dog must travel to get the target. Always

restrain him until he is really struggling to get free before you

give him the take-off command and release him. This will teach

your dog to blast off with a fast start on your command."

from Speeding Things Up - A Success Story by Webb and Leslie Anderson published in the February 2000 issue of Front and Finish.

We thought this sounded like a great idea and tried it for the first time today. Mom put a target with a little piece of chicken on it about two feet away from me and held me back and said, "Reeeaaadddyyyy, go!" And I got the chicken - what an easy and fun game! Mom found out that I didn't like to be held back and would wait next to her until she finally said, "GO!" We increased the distance to the target and eventually added jumps one at a time until I did three jumps really fast on my way to the target. We're going to try this some more and in different places and with some other obstacles and see how it goes.

Mom also read another article called Agility and the Small Dog - Speed Challenged Agility Dogs by Gerianne F. Darnell from the October 2000 issue of Front and Finish and the author told this story:

"A few years ago I had the good fortune of walking out of a ring and

having Linda Mecklinberg talk to me for about 15 minutes

about my slow dog. I will always be grateful for this talk,

because it forever changed the way I looked at a course. Linda

told me that I would often need to run a course like nobody else

would run it. I would have to find "unnecessary" places to cross

in front of my dog, in order to keep him moving. She said somebody

might watch me run a course and say "Now, why in the

heck would she do that?" but that I had to forget about what

other people thought, and do what my DOG needed me to do.

She said I had to constantly be looking for a half second here,

and a second there, and that if enough of those seconds added

up, my dog could make time in excellent jumpers. For example,

she told me to meet my dog at the end of the chute and turn

him immediately to the next obstacle, don’t wait for him to

come out to tell him where to go next. He should know before

he comes out of the chute what I want him to do."

Now one of our instructors had already given us this advice, and we actually ran our jumpers run the other day with this in mind, but it was good to hear someone else talk about running a course like no one else would.

Any way, we just wanted to share these thoughts and also keep track of them for ourselves. It's been a long time since I posted something without pictures or video! I have made progress on my stand in the corner trick, so I'll try to get mom to make a vid to show it off!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

tRicky T-Day!

After skipping tRicky T-Day last week and then only posting someone else's trick video the week before that, we felt a lot of pressure to post a trick this week!! LOL! So we made a very quick video this morning showing the beginnings of my new trick - stand in the corner! We were inspired to learn this from Dazzle's corner trick (video we posted two weeks ago) and then we also saw Blue over at Trublue Art and Agility learned this trick recently too! Mom started by putting a piece of painter's tape in the corner and having me touch it with my nose. Then she stopped putting the tape and just pointed and told me, "Corner, nose!" Eventually she will just say, "Corner!" and won't point and I'll just do it. Not sure if she'll ever get me to sit in the corner though. She tried and I just don't like it!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

CATC AKC Agility Trial

We ran two runs today in the Columbus All Breed Training Club Agility Trial held nearby at a Sports Barn (usually the building is used for soccer so the surface is artificial grass carpet). It was our first time competing somewhere other than the horse barn. So new place, new surface. Mom decided that she wanted me to get used to spending some time in my crate at trials, so my friend/trainer Deb let us set up with her. That part was nice, but I was not too comfortable in my crate! (I like my crate at home but this building was hot and noisy - too many people and dogs!). Mom didn't make me stay in there very long - it was cooler outside than in and I also spent some time sleeping in the car.

Any way, we ran our Open JWW run around 11:00AM. It went pretty well - mom quickly gave up on the plan she had for running the course and started running on the outside of the jumps - it worked - I sped up and fortunately finished the course just under the standard course time (STC:42/My time: 41.88)! Here is the Open JWW course map:

Then we waited nearly 5 hours for our Open STD run! We hung out in the car, we walked, we hung out with Deb......it was very boring! When it finally got to be my turn, I was less than excited (even with the prospect of meatballs)! I sniffed the ground before I got on the aframe and the judge called a refusal. One refusal is ok in Open. Then the chute - I surprised mom when I came out faster than I usually do. Then when I was supposed to be going into a tunnel (mom clearly told me "tunnel"!), I thought I saw something near the table and headed that way. Mom yelled, 'HEY!" and I turned away and took the tunnel. But the table was next and I stopped to sniff and darn if the judge didn't call another refusal (so now NQ!). I wasn't refusing to do these obstacles, I was merely sniffing, but apparently the judge didn't know that! The rest of the course went well - good weaves and faster than usual dogwalk. We finished a little over course time (not sure of the timings but I think it was 10 points off so we could've Q'ed if it weren't for the second refusal!). Here is the Open STD course map:

And last but not least, here is the video of both runs:

It was a pretty good day! I have two legs toward my Open Jumpers title (just need one more) and I made some progress in the Open STD run - at least we didn't get whistled off for running out of time like we did the last time we tried an Open STD course. Maybe we'll actually Q next time! Tomorrow I get to stay at home and mom is going to volunteer at the trial. I am looking forward to my day off after working so hard today!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky