Since I last wrote

We've been having some busy days around here. The weather is still great and we try to be outside as much as we can. A few days ago mom and dad took me for an awesome walk at a nearby metro park. We've been there before - it's the place with the 3.5 mile pet trail. But this time when we went, mom put on my long line and let me walk the trail "off-leash"! Totally cool! I stayed with mom and dad but also got to run and smell a lot. I am a very path-oriented dog, so I stay right on the trail. It was a fantastic walk!

Thursday night was the mock obedience competition in Deb's advanced class. You may remember we have taken this class twice before and each time we do the competition, our score goes down. Well the third time we got the lowest score yet - mom thinks that Deb is scoring us more critically each time because mom thinks we did our best-ever on Thursday night. Actually our entire class did well. I was ok on heel on leash and off leash and on figure eight (but the heeling stuff is still our weakest part - I sniff a little and sit poorly, etc.) My stand-for-exam was good. On the recall I sat too far from mom but my military finish was excellent! Long sits and downs were perfect. I was happy to see Deb as always and happy to get my chicken hot dogs treats!

Yesterday we visited grandpa and grandma. We went to a garage sale, had a great lunch, helped grandma do a little gardening, and went for ice cream at a local ice cream stand.

The only bad part of the past few days is that I am sick! Yesterday morning I vomited a little yellow, frothy bit of stuff - sometimes this happens to me early in the morning before breakfast, so mom didn't worry about it. We went on about our business yesterday and then about an hour after I ate my dinner, I threw it all back up! This is not like me at all! Mom was concerned but I wasn't really acting sick - still barking and running, etc. So after a couple hours, since I was so hungry, she let me have a little rice. Well, darn if I didn't throw that up within 20 minutes after eating it. That really worried mom, so she put me on a leash to keep me quiet and lying next to her and we just rested until bedtime. I slept all night and got up hungry. Mom has let me have some ice chips so far - she is being very cautious this morning. I am HUNGRY and really don't know why I haven't gotten my breakfast yet! Mom says she doesn't want to upset my stomach and that I'll have to wait a little longer and then she'll let me have a little rice again. We'll cross our fingers and hope I keep it down. Fortunately, vomiting seems to be my only symptom so maybe this is just a little stomach upset and I'll be fine in no time.

Gotta rest (zoom later, hopefully)!

Ricky

Beautiful weather!

We have been having absolutely beautiful weather here in Ohio the past few days - low humidity, highs around 80 degrees and lows around 60. Not usual for August but I am loving it! I have much more energy for walks and for agility practice - wish it would stay like this forever!

I had such a busy week last week that I never shared any photos from our kayaking trip last Monday. We went to another nearby reservoir (not the same one where we went camping) and kayaked.

Over the weekend mom found out that her mother-in-law (so my other grandma) and her Border Collie Kyle were invited to the National Obedience Invitationals for the second time. They went in 2006 and placed in the top 8 dogs in the country! Here is a video of Catherine and Kyle from the 2006 competition -

Catherine also has her own website - Canine Competitive Obedience Toolbox that has a ton of information and also great videos of her and Kyle! So now we know two people and their dogs that will be going to Nationals in December! Awesome! Kyle was mom's inspiration to get me! So thanks, Kyle!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

My first-ever camping trip!

I just got back from my first-ever camping trip! Yesterday dad took mom and me to a state park not too far from here that is on a huge reservoir. Dad had camped there many times. He knew the best campsites and had one picked out for us that had a big grassy area and a mowed path down to the lake. It was perfect for us! The first thing we did was to pitch our tent. After we had set up camp, we walked a very short distance to a little beach in the campground. No one was there but us! I love running at the water's edge and chasing sticks. But dad also tried to teach me how to swim. He carried me out into the water - and then helped me to get going. It took a few tries, but then I was sort of doing it! I was swimming! I'll tell you what, though, I am not sure about the swimming part. I just wanted to get back on dry land and moved my legs as fast as I could to get there.
After swimming we went on a short hike on a nature trail in the campground. We saw lots of giant swallowtails - they are really beautiful butterflies - and ate lots of wild blackberries - yum! Then we came back to the campsite and took chairs down by the water's edge. We saw green herons and lots of dragonflies and damselflies.

Before dinner we went swimming again - I tried swimming some more and also got a major case of the zoomies on the shoreline. We also walked through the campground to the boat ramp and checked out the floating dock. For dinner I had my usual great food and mom and dad grilled some veggies and sandwiches. When it got close to sunset, we put the kayak in (right from our site) and dad paddled us around awesome coves and then finally way out into the big lake so we could see the sunset. Wouldn't you know it, but an enormous cloud covered the sun just as it was setting - oh well - still looks pretty though.
When we got back dad built a fire. I was soooooo tired - I couldn't believe we were still out in the wilderness and not home in our comfy house! I got up in mom's lap (something I never do - shows you just how exhausted I was) and fell asleep.

Camping was fun - hopefully we'll do it again some time. I am so tired - I can hardly keep my eyes open as I write this.

Gotta nap (then zoom)!

Ricky

A game of fetch (sort of)

Here is the video of my idea of a game of fetch! I don't really get why Wilson is so into chasing the ball. I think chasing him is much more fun, and I am careful to conserve my energy because you never know how long the game may last.

Wilson is awfully good at retrieving - and he's even better at catching! We had a lot of fun! And thanks to grandma for her excellent ball-hurling skills!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Visiting my cousins

On Sunday mom and I went to grandpa and grandma's to visit my golden retriever cousins Wilson and Sandy. My aunt was on vacation so the golden's spent about 10 days at grandma's. Lucky dogs! That's me and my best bud Wilson in the photo below. At first I am always in shock when I see him - he is so BIG! But then I get used to it again and follow him around every where.

This is a photo of Sandy - she and I just co-exist. We don't pay each other one bit of attention. For her, it's like I'm not even there.
Here's Wilson helping out in the garden like I do some times.
My favorite thing to do with Wilson is to help him play fetch. Grandpa's big yard is perfect for lots of long runs after the ball. Mom and I took some video and hope to post it later so you can see what I am talking about. We all took a walk out to the back of the yard - this year the farmer planted corn and it grew so high it's a just a wall of corn! Higher than an elephant's eye!

We had a great visit - and the weather was perfect - sunny but not too hot with a cool breeze. Grandpa gave us lots of fresh vegetables from the garden, we had a nice lunch, and we did lots of laughing and talking. I was very glad that I got to see Wilson. Mom says I'll see him at his house later this month! Cool! Can't wait!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Private agility lesson

Today we had our private agility lesson with a new instructor! We started out with showing her a little of what we know. We did a few jumps and a front cross and a post turn. We did the dog walk (my first-ever full height walk!) and a good 2o2o contact. Then we tried the chute (our instructor knew about our problems with the chute). I went through it but only if it was held open a little at the end. Fortunately she said she's not worried about it. Guess she figures I'll get it eventually.

After that we started working with a single jump on mom's handling. We worked on front crosses - mom had to remember to support me over the jump with her arm and to bring me to her side after the jump. We also worked on collection over the jump - I was turning really wide - with the right cues from mom, I started to turn a lot tighter. We did a little work on rear crosses and 90 degree and 180 degree turns on the flat. We did some recalls over two jumps. Then we did some jump sequences to get me moving faster and more confidently and to get mom thinking more and practicing her front crosses closer to the jump I was heading for. Also mom has gotten into the habit of telling me "go, go" or "here", etc. and the instructor said mom should stick to using correct body language to tell me where to go and the name of the obstacle. Mom also has to work on getting the name of the obstacle out sooner.

At the very end of our lesson, I showed off my weaves - I did 12 entering from the right side and then 12 from the left side. My right side entries are better than my left although the instructor said from the left is easier because you can wrap around the first pole. She said we should practice lots of entries and also tunnel - weaves and jump - weaves. I had a good time with her - she gave me lots of treats and I followed her and did some more difficult weave entries - if I missed a pole, she got me all excited about trying it again. That's something that mom needs to figure out - better motivation for me.

So it was all in all a very good lesson. The instructor says I am cautious about what I am doing and that mom is a little too reserved - so I need to be more bold and fast and mom needs to be more exciting, I guess! We're not sure what we are going to do next - there is a regular class that starts the first week of September. Also there is a possibility of getting into another class that is already in progress. Or more private lessons. We'll have to see what we can afford to do. At least we have a lot of serious stuff to work on and a new, more focused and detailed way of thinking about what we need to do.

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Agility invitationals

Last night we found out that my dog trainer Deb (I just love her!) is going to the national agility invitationals in Long Beach, CA in December! Hurray for her! She and her Jack Russell Bug qualified and that makes Bug one of the top five Jacks in the country! We are super excited for them. Deb is my obedience instructor but nowadays her real passion is for agility. We hope to be at least half as good as she and her dogs one day.

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Trip to Hocking Hills

Yesterday mom and dad took me to a beautiful place - Hocking Hills - in southern Ohio. It is a state park that is full of sandstone cliffs and recessed caves. Incredibly beautiful! And best of all, dogs are allowed on all of the hiking trails! The weather was perfect, too. About 80 degrees in the afternoon and low humidity. We got there a little before lunch and did a quick little hike in the Old Man's Cave area (no pictures because mom forgot her camera in the car!). Then we snuck in to the primitive campground and had lunch at a campsite. It was so quiet - absolutely no one was in there. Then we went to Cedar Falls and went on a big hike!
A view of the creek and some of the huge trees and lush ferns.
Another view of the creek and some of the big boulders.
Here is one of a sandstone rock formation.

There were lots of bridges to cross!
Here I am at Cedar Falls! The photo is not great but you can kind of get the idea!
We also had lots of steps to climb! It was a real work out for me - steps, big tree roots, boulders and rocks to climb over - we're talking major hiking!
Another view of a sandstone formation and cliff.
I got to play in the creek for a long time - Dad loves the water too and got right in to encourage me. I like to get wet but don't yet like to go in and really swim. As long as I can touch the bottom, I'm good.

Hocking Hills can get crowded, especially on nice weather days, but if you walk far enough, you can generally get away from most of the people. Then you really feel isolated and can take in the serenity and beauty of your surroundings. We heard lots of neat birds - hermit thrush, wood thrush, towhee, black-throated green warbler, red-eyed vireo, red-shouldered hawk - and saw some great butterflies - redspotted purple, fritillary, tiger swallowtail - but we didn't find any dragonflies!

It takes us a little over an hour to get to Hocking Hills. Perfect for me because I rested up on the way down and on the way back! Mom wishes the trip was a little shorter so that we could go more often. That sounds good to me too! I know I was a really good boy while we were there so hopefully we'll go back again soon!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Summer is flying by!

Hard to believe it's July 23 already! Where does the time go? Today is finally a cooler day - I am loving it! Mom loves it to and we both have so much more energy than when it's hot and humid. Thank goodness we get breaks in the heat like this in a typical Ohio summer.

Lately we haven't really done much out of the routine. We start each morning with my lessons - working on basic obedience stuff like heeling, figure eight, stays, recalls, and a little dumbbell work. Then we go on our morning walk in the neighborhood. I am doing well on the walk these days. Mom drapes my leash around her neck and I am fairly good about staying by her side. She occasionally has to give the leash a quick tug to remind me about what I should be doing. We have a routine with cars now too - when we see one coming, mom tells me to sit and to wait. Then after the car goes by, mom waits for me to look away from the car (sometimes it takes forever for me to forget about those CARS!) and to look up at her. Then we keep going. I am better about not losing my cool and barking like a maniac when cars go by, but I do slip up from time to time. The past few days we have been doing lessons during the walk too - we go to a quiet area of the neighborhood where there is a sidewalk in a grassy area that used to be used for elementary kids to walk to school - there mom puts me through my paces to see if I will listen to her in a different environment. I've been great so far! I even held my down stay when a big flock of Canada geese flew right over my head!

After the walk, we often come home and do a little agility. Lately we have been working on some serpentines and pinwheels and weaves. Yesterday mom set up our teeter on the cement patio - previously I had only done the teeter in the grass and mom wanted to see if the "bang" from the board on the cement would bother me. Nope - I had no problem with it - as a matter of fact, I don't know what she is even talking about. I didn't hear anything. I was focused on the target with the treat on it!

The rest of the day we do gardening, or teach viola and violin if it's a Tuesday, or go to the park, or play in the hose, or chase squirrels in the backyard, or go for car rides, or visit grandpa and grandma.....as you can see, I have a wonderful life!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Weave pole practice

Mom and I got in a little agility practice this morning before it got too hot. We have been trying to do some each morning. There is more video from today, but we haven't gotten it off the camera yet. Mom is really slow with this video editing, etc. We worked on pinwheels and weaves and a little table. We'll see if anything else from today is worth sharing. We think we have a private agility lesson set up for August 1. Two weeks to get ready!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Sprinkler time!

It's HOT here! After lunch mom and I went for a short walk at my favorite park and then it was time to cool off in the sprinkler!




That was exhausting!

Gotta zoom (really, gotta nap!)!

Ricky

Kayaking!

Mom, Dad and I just got home from a little kayaking trip - our first one of the summer! When mom and dad got married a few years ago, they got a tandem kayak as a wedding present. Dad is a real good kayaker - he does all of the paddling, BTW, and mom gets to ride around like Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile! Any way, last summer when I was a young pup, mom and dad introduced me to kayaking and I have always loved it! Today we went to a river that is near our house and took a short trip. You need a lot of gear when kayaking:
Me in my cool life jacket:
Waiting by the river for dad to put in:
Still waiting:
Finally, we're off:

We had beautiful weather and saw turtles, herons, a water snake, and lots of pretty damselflies.

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Learning new stuff

Since mom and I are still new to the blogging world, we are learning stuff all the time. Last night dad taught us two new things. So here is our attempt at embedding a YouTube video and at using hyperlinks! Cross your fingers!



We made this video last month in response to a video we watched at Johann and Gracie's YouTube channel (watch Johann's video here). I am not nearly as skilled as Johann and mom isn't any where close to Johann's mom, but we wanted to try out something similar to their backyard set-up. It was fun! We have taped other agility practice sessions, but either mom messes up or I am super slow or uninterested. Then mom puts the camera away, and I do some super speedy weaves or some great jumps. Crazy! Maybe some day we'll get some really good video to share with you.

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Gardening

We've been doing some gardening lately and wanted to share some photos from our front flower garden! The bees and butterflies love it, but so do those nasty Japanese beetles!



Guess all the rain has really helped the garden grow! I am not a great subject for the camera - I can't look at mom because I might miss a car or dog going by. Nothing she says and no sound she makes can divert me from my purpose! I am extremely focused (when I want to be)!

Gotta zoom!

Ricky

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July and Happy Birthday Grandma! It is a rainy and boring day for me. We got in a walk this morning in the rain, but since then not a whole lot has been happening. It rained most of yesterday too. Mom set up a mini agility course for me in the living room yesterday. She put a dark colored bed sheet over the chute to make it heavier and darker and set up my broad jump and 4 weaves (plungers). We had fun doing that little sequence. The chute doesn't phase me at all - I even got stuck in it once and still had no fear or hesitation about it. Go figure.

Mom has also been working really hard on getting me to look up at her while we are heeling. It is working pretty well at least for about 10 steps or so. We are practicing with the dumbbell too. I am getting better at taking it and then holding it for 5 -10 seconds and then dropping it (into mom's hand as long as she has her hand there ready). But this is major improvement for me. Wonder how long it will take to get me to retrieve it?

We decided to wait until September to enroll in agility class again. We're going to try the new training club. Between now and then, though, I think we are going to take a couple private lessons there - we just need to set one up and see how it goes. We'll be great candidates for privates - no other dogs and people around to take my focus off what I am doing and no one to rush us (also no one to keep us waiting around either).

We hope you are all having a great day! Promise to post some new photos soon - the flowers are really benefiting from all of this rain and we'll take some pictures to share with you if the sun ever comes back out!

Gotta zoom!


Ricky