Happy Memorial Day!

I know it's been a long time but I promise to get back to blogging very soon! Hope everyone is having a great day!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Flowers!

Before it started raining again, we had several days in a row that were warm and partly sunny. I mean the highs were 85! It felt like July and I walked around panting all day and night. We spent a lot of time outside. Mom got annuals and planted pots and did other gardening. I got to cool off in the hose. We took some photos - mostly of flowers. The irises are very beautiful this year (probably all that April rain). They are super tall and have lots of blooms. Today we have five different colored ones blooming in the front garden. Irises have been one of mom's favorite flowers ever since she was a kid.

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

tRicky T-Day!

I know I haven't posted a tricky t-day video in a few weeks. We have made some videos trying to get some tricks to show you and the videos have not turned out good enough. Today's is not fantastic but it will give you an idea of what I am doing.

Remember awhile ago I mentioned that I was going to learn treibball? Well I know the very beginnings of it. I read stuff on the internet and a friend gave us some information on it and mom and I have been learning. The first things you have to know are go around and go to mat and lie down. I already knew those. So we could then add the ball and I go around the ball and lie down. We have faded the use of a mat. The other main thing you have to do is to push the ball with your nose. You can use your shoulders but never your feet or your mouth. So I had to line up on the opposite side of the ball from mom and touch a small piece of tape low on the ball with my nose. (We practiced touching the tape on other objects first but I got that fast because I knew nose touch already too).

The video shows my progress so far. The hallway is helpful because it channels the movement of the ball a little bit. My favorite part is pushing the ball so I often want to skip the "down" part. So mom rewards me for the down too (I know how to work her for treats!). We are working on the herding cues of go bye and away for my movement to the right or the left side of the ball (although from agility if I am on mom's right, I will head for the right side of the ball, etc) and transferring what I know so far to out in our yard. Yesterday I did pretty well out there but I still prefer to treibball in the house - LOL!

The foundational moves are so important - just like in agility. Everything hinges on the foundation. Eventually I should be able to move the ball straight toward a goal (like a soccer goal net) and also be sent out to multiple balls, get one that mom designates and then herd it into the goal.

It's pretty fun and I highly recommend that you try this game with your own dogs! Here are a couple of links to helpful information:

http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/14_4/features/Treibball-Canine-Sport_20234-1.html

http://www.youtube.com/user/livingwithdogs?feature=chclk

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

PS. In yesterday's WW photo, I was on top of that little white aframe they had at the dog park. The photo was taken on the same day as the video of me doing agility there (and the video of crazy mom on the slide). We haven't been back there yet.

Wordless Wednesday

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday! She is getting pretty old but she sure doesn't act it - guess she is one of those "young at heart" kind of people.

Embarrassing, isn't it?

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

A New Park

Yesterday we went to a new metro park built just last year! It is smack dab in downtown Columbus so it is truly a "metro" park. I think they took what my dad called industrial wasteland and created this beautiful park. Neat, huh?

Scioto-Audubon Metro Park

We walked by the river and around the wetlands and through the playground and then we went to the dog park. There was no one there so we had the dog park all to ourselves (the way we like it). I got a big surprise there - we did some agility!! There was equipment for big dogs on one side and for little dogs on the other. (Don't worry - mom checked out all of the stuff before she let me on it). The dog park is right next to the interstate and a railroad track but that didn't faze me at all.





We had a great time - it rained a tiny bit but we were lucky - and I can't wait to go back and see more!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

The Sixth Sense

Every morning I have my breakfast and right after I am done eating, I go over towards that window you see in the background and bark and bark. It is still dark then - about 6:30AM and dad is still sleeping. But I bark no matter how many times mom says it's okay and be quiet.

There is only one explanation for it.

I see dead people.

Gotta zoom!

Ricky