Thursday, June 20, 2013

June Thor updates......

Wednesday June 20:  Thor did really well in class last night, especially with the private lesson.  He picks things up very quickly and wants to please.  Started him on holding a dumbbell in his mouth to get the feel of it.  Next thing we will purchase; now know the meaning of puppy poor!  Also started him on weaves without the distraction of the other puppies just to give him an idea and understanding of the bars. 

He again had a blast during the agility session with the tunnel and all the other equipment.  He did fall off the dog walk (only about a foot off the ground) since he was watching the other puppies and then was a bit nervous getting back on.  Once he realized he needed to keep focus he did well.  We have a lot to practice   

Weekend of June 15-16:  Thor was 5 months old on Sunday; growing up way too fast.  He is just the best puppy.  Went to a trial in Iowa and stayed at a hotel; he was sooo good but didn't want to be in a crate by himself when I went to dinner with friends.  Put Thor in the big soft crate with Keegan and left Kiah on the bed.  Expected to see all dogs loose when I got back but found no damage on the crate and the two sleeping peacefully. 

Week 3:  Really disappointed but we weren't able to make it to the puppy class due to really bad weather in that area. Kiah and Keegs class was also cancelled due to the extreme thunderstorms and tornado warnings.  It is about 45 minutes away from where I live and we only had tornado watches and a little thunder and lightning so we were very lucky.  

Week 2: Went to our second class, he is now more comfortable and beginning to be a bit more independent so not quite as attentive as he was in his first class. He really wanted to play with the other puppies but would come around to working on the obstacles. You should have seen him in the tunnel; he was having such a blast running back and forth through the curved tunnel.  Even though it was moving around, it didn't bother him one bit.  I will have to take videos of him in our next class.  He is such a loveable goof, now we are tugging on the leash.  Need to get him a nice leash to tug on, I am afraid this leash will cut his mouth.

Oh yes, he is teething and has lost a bunch of teeth, found one on the carpet the other day and another in the washing machine.

Wednesday, June 05, 2013

Improving Agility Organizations

Today is another Dog Agility Blog Event Day - June 6, 2013; please visit all the blogs at: (http://dogagilityblogevents.wordpress.com/improving-agility-organizations/).  Please leave comments, we all enjoy hearing what you have to say.

I mainly do AKC agility but will on occasion do CPE or NADAC.  My suggestions on improving Agility Organizations will be about AKC since that is where I have most of my experience.  This is very timely since the AKC Agility Advisory Board has asked for recommendations recently.

I know that AKC has changed the rule about running consecutive trials within 100 miles of each other if the club that held the date first gives their approval (rule here).  My personal opinion is there won't be many clubs who will approve it unless they have a great relationship with the other club.  There are so many trials now that have waiting lists I was hoping that AKC would lower the distance to 50 miles.  A friend mentioned on FB that they often have to overnight their entries when the trial is first received and still have not been able to get in. It is not that bad in this area but there are several trials I have been way down the wait list of over 150 people and our club's one ring trial had over 500 people on the wait list.

The other thing I would like to see is to get rid of the table (at least in Master classes); it is time consuming which cause the runs to be longer and makes course changes longer.

One of the recommendations I have seen posted is to make sure that the chute entrances are padded as some have sharp edges that could cut a dog.  If this is the case it certainly should be fixed for the safety of the dogs.

A few of the other suggestions I have seen posted:

  • All contact equipment has to be rubberized-which definitely should be a rule.  I have been to a trial where the contacts were not rubberized and it was really scary.
  • Fast reduced to one level course-I love this idea which it would make it similar to T2B.
  • Level C courses which would be optional and handled similarly to T2B-I love this idea and think it is a great way for those who want to be challenged more by international course have that opportunity. 
  • YPS requirement for qualifying runs for nationals-Not sure about this I will have to discuss this with my friends who have qualified.
  • Bitches in season will be allowed to run if they are wearing their panties-I understand there is a lot of this being done (without the panties) already and this would make it legal.
  • New veterans class and drop in height even if your dog jumps preferred.-I like this idea and think it is fair to our older dogs.
Just a thought to end this post; I have considered doing USDAA but the jumps heights are too high.  If those were changed I would consider doing that venue.

Please visit the other blogs and make comments, a lot of thought and effort goes into these blogs. I look forward to seeing all perspectives these blogs offer.









Sunday, June 02, 2013

Thor is home!!!!!

He has been home now for one week and is fitting in perfectly.  He is one awesome puppy and I am so lucky to have found him.

He went to his first obedience/agility class.  We do 1/2 hour private lessons for obedience and then relax for 15 minutes or so before the puppy agility starts.  He did all of the obstacles (baby sized) even the teeter which was a few inches off the ground, just enough to have some movement and bang a little.  He realized if he did something and finished it he got a "cookie" so he just kept doing them; he is one smart boy.

He loves Kiah and Keegan and wants to be with them all the time. He watches everything they do and copies much of it.  Hopefully I can get him to copy the good but not the bad, lol.  He is doing well with his crate training and will cry or bark for a few minutes but then settles down like a good boy.

He picks up on his training so quickly and wants to please, I can't wait to see how he does in agility and obedience but at the same time I want to keep him a puppy for a long time.

More later with Thor updates.....