The Proof!

Sorry, no tRicky T-Day video today! We are working hard on a few new tricks, but they are still not ready for primetime!

However, we went to our agility class last night and our instructor was nice enough to video us! Only two dogs showed up for the class - not sure where everyone was. It was ok with me though - we got to run the course twice and also practice hard parts of it. I'll let the video speak for itself:

This weekend is the AKC Invitationals out in Long Beach, CA. Once again this year my favorite trainer Deb and her Russell Terrier Bug are competing in agility and my grandma Catherine Zinsky and her Border Collie Kyle are competing in obedience (hoping to top their fourth place finish from last year). We wish them and all the other competitors the best!

I am busy working on my holiday video - it was going well until mom screwed up and deleted part of it! I am hoping to have it done in the next week so stay tuned!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

tRicky T-Day! and agility, always agility

We've been busy with agility practicing and not as much trick practicing. Mom is teaching me to lift my back leg up (she says we are going to call it "Are you a boy dog?" but we haven't gotten that far yet so I'm not supposed to know). We made a short video to show you my progress - watch and you'll see me lift my leg once really high without using the books!

I am back in the novice competition class on Wednesday nights - remember I was taking that class last spring and then stopped so that I could take the handling class outside in the summer? Well I love being back in the training building! Last week and this week we had really good classes! Mom brought the meatballs and I was super enthusiastic. We think having our own dogwalk is helping me with the real dogwalk at class. And last night I even did the weaves fast for me - you know I am used to the stick-in-the-ground poles I have at home and the regular poles slow me down some. So far the sequences have seemed very easy to mom and me - we must've learned a lot over the summer. It makes mom much more confident in her handling and then that makes me confident and faster too. She even ran all the way around the outside of some jumps last night - long path for her and unconventional handling - but it really motivated me and the instructor was cheering us on!

We were going to do a trial this weekend at the horse barn, but the issue about the sandy surface has not been resolved yet and the trial was moved to a place about an hour and a half away. Mom decided we're not ready to travel that far yet (spoiled as we are by trials 20 minutes away!). Our next trial day is Sept.25 - here in town at a sports barn - sort of artificial grass I think. That will be a completely different experience for me - hope my new found confidence transfers to that new place!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Tricky T-Day

It's Thursday so here is our Tricky T-Day video! This is my newest trick - dig! We used a post-it on the floor for me to target to start out. It didn't take long for me to dig since it's a well-known motion any way. Next mom wants to get me to dig with both paws, but we're not sure how to go about doing that.

On Tuesday we went to our second handling class. It went well and we worked on lateral sends. Mom also asked the instructor what to do about discriminations and the fact that I don't really know (or listen to) the obstacle names. She said the only obstacle I really need to know the name of is tunnel. Mom needs to use her body language to help me to go to the correct obstacle. Then if there are contact obstacle/tunnel discriminations and mom says "tunnel" I had better go for the tunnel!!!! So we are practicing this week - starting out with me standing right in front of the tunnel and then backing up a little and then from different angles. I am doing very well if tunnel is the only thing around. Once another obstacle is near-by then I want to do that one. Guess it will take some time.

Last night was our last novice competition class. We went early and got to practice the chute. I am happy to say I went flying through it. Then when we had the chute in sequences during the class, I also went through with no problem. Now if I can just do that in a trial!

Speaking of trials - we are running on Friday and Saturday this weekend - AKC in the good old horse barn! Two runs per day - JWW and STD. This is my third trial and the first time we are trying to run two days. Friday is supposed to be very hot and humid so mom is worried about how we will hold up. (Although she sees me chase plenty of squirrels in super hot weather so I should be able to do some agility too)!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

More agility

Sorry we forgot that it was Tricky T-Day today so we'll try to remember to play on the other T-Day in the week!

Since it's more or less summertime now, we spend far less time in the house and at the computer than we used to. So we get really behind at sharing our activites with all our blogging friends. We've been on some great walks - including a brand new place for me - a huge park about 45 minutes from here. We've been practicing a lot of backyard agility - working on running the down plank of the dog walk using my teeter board on a cement block (in my novice comp. class last Wednesday night, I jumped off the side of the down plank above the yellow twice! - mom was turning and trying to get me to go faster - so I did! - but now we have to work on making sure I know to go all the way to the end), practicing serpentines with two jumps and the tire, and throwing a food container (that bolt holder thingy that Sara told us about once - I can't remember what it was called) out ahead so that I run faster forward through the weaves or over jumps or down the dogwalk board. It works really well, but mom's not sure how that eventually translates into making me faster when she doesn't throw it. We'll make a video soon so you all can see.

Today we started a new class called handling drills and skills and it's held outdoors at the instructor's house at 9:30 in the morning. We had a great time! I was a little distracted when we first got there but I was soon able to focus better. There are only four dogs in the class - and they are all tri-colors! Two Berners and two Shelties! The small class size is wonderful but there are three jump heights so we are constantly running around changing the bars. Today's class was taught by Jenn Crank (her mom Susan is going to teach the rest of the time). It was very exciting to have a USA World Team member as our instructor. She is really good - and nice too. In this class we focused on forward sends and parallel sends. It's hard for me to get motivated to jump when we are drilling the two sends and mom is standing pretty close to the jump - I did ok but not great. I sped up some once we started trying to incorporate those moves into longer sequences. We also talked a lot about turning cues - like deceleration - we are never supposed to use "come," "here," or the dog's name as cues to turn. It should be all body language. The last sequence of the morning was the best for us - Jenn said mom's handling was excellent on that one!!! We are really looking forward to next week's class! (Our Wed. night class overlaps with our new class for two weeks - so we have class twice this week and next).

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Agility practice and more on the Flip!

First of all, I'd like to say that I had the class of my life on Wednesday night! I was feeling very confident and did everything much faster than my usual poke-along speed! People were asking mom what she was doing differently - she made up her mind to run faster and to be more confident herself and to not wait around for me. I guess it worked! Sorry there is no video to prove it all - typical! I even played with mom at the class and that is a big milestone for us!

The other day we practiced doing some 270 jumps (from our class the week before). We put our old camcorder on the tripod and warmed up with some tricks and then tried some sequences.

Then yesterday we set up the Flip camera on the tripod (in the same location as the other camera) and practiced some serpentines and pinwheels. Sorry the one jump in the serpentine is not in the camera view! Also the pinwheel is deeper than it looks on the video and mom didn't step into the pocket - she made me go and find the jump on my own.

We are liking the Flip more and more. It is really easy to operate and to carry around. It makes pretty decent quality videos. The only thing mom didn't like was the software. It is very basic but super simple to use. But she figured out how to get a Flip video into Windows Movie Maker. WMM won't accept a video clip from Flip but if you make a Flip movie, you can then import it into WMM and make a better movie from there. Diana asked if we thought the Flip would do well at a distance - we have seen video of agility trials and herding that turned out good. We are taking it to our next trial in June and we'll see.

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Class video

We took the Flip camera to class on Wednesday night and one of our former instructors was there and she was nice enough to stay around and video us! It was not our fastest, bestest class ever, but it was neat to have the video. That way mom was able to remember the sequences we did so that we could set them up at home and practice!

In the first half of the class we worked on discriminations (easier ones than last week) and contacts. I did great until we had a sequence with the table - I found a treat that was left over from the puppy class that happens before our class - some little puppy's lost treat became my treasure! My teeter is monumentally slow but did you see how one of my dogwalks was pretty fast?

In the second part of the class we worked on weave entries and 270 and serpentines. I work on serpentines at home, but in class they always seem to be angled differently or something. The 270 is something we haven't worked on much, but we have it set up in the yard right now to practice. (Yesterday I wasn't getting it at all until mom moved the jumps closer together). Any way, mom watched a very good classmate during this half to see how she walked the sequences. This worked out well for mom and theoretically well for me but not practically for me. So mom still needs to figure out how to run the sequences to motivate me. If she just stands there and expects me to run ahead and do all the work, it's just not going to happen right now! So get in there and run and do some front crosses, mom! I also got pretty distracted in the second half of class - I was a little tired from being outside all day long I guess.

Well, we hope you all have a good long weekend! We're still enjoying really nice weather here - although the last couple days have been too hot for me! Thursday evening we went to a bbq/birthday party at a friend's house - very fun. Today we are going out to grandma and grandpa's for another bbq - this time my cousin Wilson will be there! I am really looking forward to seeing him! 

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

It's HOT, HOT, HOT!

Wow, we went from 40 degrees to 85 in a hurry here! What happened? I don't mind temperatures in the 60s but this is ridiculous! I am so HOT all the time - in the house too because mom believes that no air conditioning should be run in the month of April! It's against her principals! LOL! The only relief I get is playing in the hose.

Any way, enough complaining. Last Wednesday was our last novice competition class for this session. We ran a course of 21 obstacles. We got to run it twice all the way through and also worked on the middle section (the sequence that we tried to replicate in the video the next day). Mom and I did really well. We're very excited to take the class again - it starts over on May 6th.

Yesterday mom left me stranded at home while she went off to our club and volunteered for their spring obedience trial. She did this to me last year too. Then she has the nerve to come home and tell me all about it! She was a ring steward for Open again - her job was to set up the broad jump and also lead the people and dogs into the ring for the long sits and downs. The judge (Carol Ann Klein) was super nice - to the ring stewards and also to all of the competitors. There were lots of Goldens entered but also a Berner, a Russell Terrier, a couple Rotties, a Dobe, two Corgis, and a BC. It was interesting for mom to watch. She said she was smiling the whole time - either at how good a dog was doing or at how cute the dog was when they did something wrong (even though she knows how frustrating it was for the handler when the dog would go straight to a finish on a recall instead of coming front or would not sit at a halt in a heeling pattern or would roll over and scratch his back on the matting instead of just doing a simple down!). Some dogs really showed their personalities out there! Mom learned a lot and came home more excited about the prospect of showing me in the novice obedience class eventually.

We are starting to get a lot of birds migrating through our neighborhood. Swainson's thrush, hermit thrush, yellow warbler, nashville warbler....mom and dad know a lot of the birds' songs so they can hear them and identify them even if they can't always see them. It's a great time of year for birdwatchers!

Hope lots of you are having a beautiful weather weekend - but maybe not so HOT!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

How do you guys do it?

Mom can't believe how much time goes by between my posts! How do you all do it - posting every day and sometimes more than once a day? I enjoy reading everything you all write but I can't think of that much to say!

We finally got a sunny day today! Mom and dad took me on a walk and it was fun until I lost control at some cars that went by and mom got mad because I was pulling and lunging and barking. She gets super frustrated and I just can't help myself.

Mom and dad got a new gas grill today - dad had one years ago - but in the past five years, they've been using a charcoal grill. So a nice, new gas grill and dad cooked chicken and zucchini on it and they ate outside and everything - just like a summertime party! I continued my theme for the day and barked at all people and most cars that went by our house.

Last night we got to go to our novice competition class - class 6. We missed class 5 last week when mom was at work. Last night it was fun to be back. The theme for the evening was threading through obstacles to go on to another obstacle. Like come out of a tunnel and go through two jumps and on to the a frame. We had mixed success - sometimes I ignored mom and took the off course obstacle and sometimes I listened to her. Any way, something new to work on. Mom thinks she wants to take this same level class next session too. There's still lots of stuff for us to learn from these two teachers.

So any way, hope you all have a great weekend! Mom works all day tomorrow but has most of Saturday off. Hopefully the nice weather will stick around for awhile!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Classes

I'm pretty far behind in my blogging. I've been to three classes and haven't written about any of them. My Monday morning class has been really fun. Two weeks ago we tried a FAST course for the first time - FAST is kind of the AKC equivalent to USDAA gambles. This was an excellent FAST course so the send part was way over our heads but interesting to try and to see. You had to send your dog into a straight tunnel and then hopefully the dog was going so fast that he would shoot straight out of that tunnel and into a second one that curved around and then you had to call your dog back into the first one - all without going over the line (so the handler was like 15 feet away?). Well, I was never moving fast enough to go straight into the second tunnel. Mom ran with me - ignoring the line - which of course would cause an NQ in the real world. But we just don't have those skills yet. I think only one dog in our class got it - so it was hard for dogs that are already running in excellent. Then this past Monday, we did more work on contacts and discriminations. I ran faster than I used to except my dogwalk and weaves were really slow.

Last Wednesday we had our third novice competition class. We are still really loving this class. But mom was apparently so tired from all her working that she couldn't remember the sequences by the second half of the class. There were only three dogs in our group, so you get to run a lot back to back to back. The instructor says stuff like - "Next sequence - right side of the tunnel to the blue (jump) to the teal to the teeter to the white to the red to the left side of the tunnel to the weaves to the table to the blue to the yellow....." - get the idea? So after hearing these different combinations all night long, mom's head started spinning. She never had this problem before - hopefully it was a one-time occurrence. It was embarrassing when she didn't know where to tell me to go! Besides that, mom needs to keep reminding herself to do front crosses and run to keep me moving. Also we found out that I can't follow her direction to one end of the tunnel or the other, so we are practicing sends to the tunnel at home more. We don't have class tonight because most of the instructors are going to the AKC Nationals! Wish them luck! So today we're going to the open agility practice - we haven't been there in nearly a month.

A couple days ago our friend Ludo gave us this awesome award! Thanks for thinking of us Ludo!!

Time for my morning walk - it's raining for the first time in days - so we're going to get wet!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Just a quick post

I had the best class of my life last night - for me, I was fast! Mom set me up at the startline each time and said "Ready, set, go!" and I went (not super fast, but fast for me)! We did some really fun sequences with harder jumps and weave entries. I got a weave entry with mom doing like a post turn from maybe 4:00 (not sure if I am describing it right) - and I got it on my first try and everybody in my half of the class cheered! Then they cheered when I got a lateral send to the tunnel and when I ran full out on a straight line jump sequence to end a set! I was pretty happy and mom was ecstatic! We think agility rocks!

In our Monday class, we ran a JWW course - set up for people who are competing in excellent. So it was much more difficult than what we are used to. It was very fun and challenging. The worst part was that mom had trouble remembering the course - but in fairness to her, she didn't have much of a chance to walk it.

Mom sent in the entry for our next AKC trial - April 4th. We decided to just do one day again. Mom says she has trouble writing out the check for two days of trialing! We just don't know how people run multiple dogs!

Mom tried practicing measuring with me at the class last night - she thinks she got a measurement under 14" - but she wasn't sure she was doing it right. At least she got me to relax a little during the process. I have definitely lost some weight - maybe that is helping.....

Time for my morning walk and then mom has to go to work!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Novice Competition Class 1

Last night was our first novice competition class and it was awesome! The class seems to be challenging but not over our heads. We are split into two groups again - last night there were four dogs in my group. We started on the side that had the most jumps and weaves and the teeter. Worked a lot of little sequences in 30 minutes - some pinwheels, 180s, - mom did a lot of front crosses with me. She's trying to get me revved up to run but now when we get in front of the first obstacle and mom starts to say ready, I immediately start moving but not very fast still. So it's been difficult for her to get a startline routine going. I admit that I am just not helping her very much. I did save her butt a few times when I went the right way and she was not very clear with her handling! And I love the end of the sequences because I get a lot of chicken!

After 30 minutes we headed to the other side which was the contacts plus tunnel, jumps and weaves. My contacts were fine - mostly because I don't run fast enough to miss the yellow! The thing that gave us the most trouble was wrapping - we have practiced jump wraps before, but last night I kept wanting to back jump. Mom tried different moves and we are going to practice all week at home. Too bad we don't get copies of the exercises we do in the class. After doing so many, it's really hard to remember the set-ups when we get home. Overall it was a great class - new people and dogs, a new instructor, and new challenges! Looking forward to next week!

Monday agility class went better this week too. In that class we practice some really advanced stuff - some of it is definitely too hard for us right now - some discriminations and some layering. But it's good to see it and try it. Mom played around with a couple of bc's after class again. One of our former instructors had two of her dogs there - one is a MACH 2 dog - mom ran her and got a real thrill out of it - it's like driving a sports car, she said - hard to control when you don't really know what you're doing! And she also ran with the other dog - a young and wild girl! It's interesting for mom because not only are they super fast dogs, but they're a lot bigger than me and mom has to think about different handling options with them.

Now for some sad news - my cattle dog friend Riley that works with her mom at my favorite pet store has been diagnosed with cancer - she is 10 years old (young for a cattle dog) and doesn't have long to live. They did surgery to remove her spleen but the cancer had spread and is in her blood vessels. Chemo doesn't work well so there's really nothing to do. We are going to visit the store as often as we can in the next few weeks. Please keep Riley and her mom in your thoughts! It's really sad - no one ever knows how much time they have left - we should all make more of an effort to enjoy the time we have......

And so,

Gotta zoom!

Ricky