Agility Boxers; Agility training progress, trial info plus photos© & videos© of agility classes and trials.
Sunday, June 18, 2017
Missing my Keegs!
Sadly I lost Keegan in August of 2016 to a tumor on his heart, he was just a little over 10 years old. Keegs was the kindest, most gentle loving boy, I was so lucky to have him in my life He loved people, dogs and he loved to bark at anything that moved outside his window. I miss him greatly and so do Kiah and Thor. Thankfully Kiah and Thor bonded after he left us but it took a while. Keegs and Thor were best buddies but so were Keegs and Kiah.
Thursday, March 03, 2016
Living the good life
Both Kiah and Keegs are now officially retired from agility. They still get to go to the club to train but at a lower jump height then they trial at. Since they were both in preferred I can't trial them at 16", if I could they could have a year or more of competing left.
Kiah may still do some obedience and rally, she has her BN and RA titles so far and I would at least like for her to get her CD and RE titles. I have to practice the RE stations before I would even attempt to have her attempt them. Keegs says he hates obedience so he will pass on participating :-). I keep saying we should try Rally but he is not enthusiastic about doing it all when we do some practice.
I really don't think they miss agility at all, they may miss going with us but not sure they will as they just chill on the bed when we are gone. The neighbor who they love comes to let them out to potty several times a day too so they get to visit.
Kiah may still do some obedience and rally, she has her BN and RA titles so far and I would at least like for her to get her CD and RE titles. I have to practice the RE stations before I would even attempt to have her attempt them. Keegs says he hates obedience so he will pass on participating :-). I keep saying we should try Rally but he is not enthusiastic about doing it all when we do some practice.
I really don't think they miss agility at all, they may miss going with us but not sure they will as they just chill on the bed when we are gone. The neighbor who they love comes to let them out to potty several times a day too so they get to visit.
Monday, November 23, 2015
Keegs is trialing in November and December 2015
Then he will retire. Took him to training class and he had a blast, the old boy still has it. Kiah had some issues in class and finds that 16" jumps are much more fun. She is still awesomely fast but her old bones just aren't what they used to be.
Keegs celebrated his 9th Birthday in May and Kiah's 9th was the middle of August. Keegs still can keep up with the youngster plus keep him in his place. He lets him know who is boss but we all know deep down it is really Kiah who is boss. Just love these two gray faces.
Keegs celebrated his 9th Birthday in May and Kiah's 9th was the middle of August. Keegs still can keep up with the youngster plus keep him in his place. He lets him know who is boss but we all know deep down it is really Kiah who is boss. Just love these two gray faces.
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
September, 2015
Wow, can't believe the summer has gone by so fast and it is almost fall.
Kiah is doing wonderfully, I believe she has lost almost all the weight she gained before her thyroid surgery. She is retired now from agility, the trial at the end of June confirmed it, she just does not want to be at trials. She still loves training so I will continue to take her when I can go to the club to train but at lower heights, she is getting arthritis in her ankles.
Keegs looks so old but he plays with Thor like a 2-year old just for shorter periods of time. The fatty tumor on his side is still pretty much the same size so that is wonderful. He had a blast running at the trial in June so I plan to run him again in November for 1 day and then again at the end of December for 1 at that trial. He will retire after that and live the life of luxury. I will train with him too but just at lower heights also, don't want to put too much stress on his body.
I am so blessed to have these two in my life and I hope they will be around for a long time.
Kiah is doing wonderfully, I believe she has lost almost all the weight she gained before her thyroid surgery. She is retired now from agility, the trial at the end of June confirmed it, she just does not want to be at trials. She still loves training so I will continue to take her when I can go to the club to train but at lower heights, she is getting arthritis in her ankles.
Keegs looks so old but he plays with Thor like a 2-year old just for shorter periods of time. The fatty tumor on his side is still pretty much the same size so that is wonderful. He had a blast running at the trial in June so I plan to run him again in November for 1 day and then again at the end of December for 1 at that trial. He will retire after that and live the life of luxury. I will train with him too but just at lower heights also, don't want to put too much stress on his body.
I am so blessed to have these two in my life and I hope they will be around for a long time.
Thursday, June 04, 2015
June 2015
Kiah is doing so well after her surgery, acting like herself again bringing me toys to throw, initiating play with Thor and has lost some weight. She actually looks better than what she weighs, last time I checked she had only lost 2lbs. She had gained close to 12 lbs so I would like to get at least 8 more lbs off of her.
Keegs is still his goofy, loveable self and pretty healthy for a nine year old. I did find a tumor on his side, felt as though it was a fatty tumor and the vet confirmed it. We do have to watch it to make sure it doesn't grow or become malignant.
They both will do some agility at the club's trial at the end of the month so we have been doing some conditioning to get them in shape. I plan to train with them almost every weekend this month to get them ready for the trial. No pressure on them just want to have some fun with them doing agility.
Keegs is still his goofy, loveable self and pretty healthy for a nine year old. I did find a tumor on his side, felt as though it was a fatty tumor and the vet confirmed it. We do have to watch it to make sure it doesn't grow or become malignant.
They both will do some agility at the club's trial at the end of the month so we have been doing some conditioning to get them in shape. I plan to train with them almost every weekend this month to get them ready for the trial. No pressure on them just want to have some fun with them doing agility.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
April - May
April 30, 2015:
First training with Kiah and Keegs in a long time last Sunday, they both did so well after being off so long. Kept the jumps a bit lower until they can get back into into it again without knocking bars. Both were so excited to be doing agility and loved special treats they get.
Also took them to class last night and had a great time. I jumped them at 16" just to get them back in shape to trial at the end of June. I plan to take them next Sunday too! It is so much fun to be running them again and they will trial at the club the end of June for one day.
First training with Kiah and Keegs in a long time last Sunday, they both did so well after being off so long. Kept the jumps a bit lower until they can get back into into it again without knocking bars. Both were so excited to be doing agility and loved special treats they get.
Also took them to class last night and had a great time. I jumped them at 16" just to get them back in shape to trial at the end of June. I plan to take them next Sunday too! It is so much fun to be running them again and they will trial at the club the end of June for one day.
Wednesday, April 08, 2015
Thor's own blog
I may have to add a blog to my client's website, they are thinking a WordPress blog. I decided to test it so I created a blog and decided to keep it for Thor. Since Kiah and Keegs are semi-retired in agility I plan to keep this one up for them with tracking and obedience. Here is the link to Thor's blog.
https://agilityboxers.wordpress.com/
Stop by and let me know what you think of the new blog for Thor.
https://agilityboxers.wordpress.com/
Stop by and let me know what you think of the new blog for Thor.
Tuesday, April 07, 2015
Kiah's Surgery
Last fall Kiah started gaining weight and even though on a diet I couldn't get it off of her, so off to the vet we go to get her thyroid blood work done and sent to Michigan. Michigan's results, everything in normal range which I found hard to believe since she has all the symptoms of thyroid issues. My vet and I decide to have her rechecked in 3 months and I will keep her on a diet to see if I can't get the weight off and to see if the other symptoms go away.
Three months later I find a lump in her neck on her thyroid so back to the vet again. Needle aspiration is inconclusive to cancer but it is a tumor. The next step is to have x-rays of her lungs to see if there are any signs of cancer since lungs are the first place cancer will metastasize. Thank goodness her lungs are clear of any lesions so we set a date for the specialist to come in to do the surgery. My vet will not do it since it is such a tricky surgery with the larynx and major blood vessels right there.
The day of the surgery the specialist calls me and says that since the tumor was caught right away and is moveable (not attached to blood vessels or larynx) she is optimistic that she will be able to remove the whole tumor. When Kiah is waking up she calls me to say all went well and the tumor will go out to check for cancer. It was cancer as expected.
I go back in to see the vet 10 days later to have Kiah's stitches removed and discuss what we do next. It ends up the tumor was small, 16cm plus it was totally removed so no chemo or radiation is recommended. If the tumor was 24cm or over it would have been different, radiation is recommended. I am ecstatic that Kiah will not have to go through radiation. Life expectancy barring any other non related health issues is 3-4+ years which will make Kiah almost 12-13+ years old. A good life expectancy for a Boxer.
It has been almost 5 weeks now since the surgery and Kiah has not been able to shed the weight so she is now on thyroid meds. The vet said that they do recommend medication after surgery even though blood work does not indicate the need as the remaining thyroid needs that support.
I can't tell you how pleased I am with the specialist, she was kind, compassionate and an excellent surgeon. I have heard that she travels all over the U.S.A. doing these kinds of surgeries, she is that good. I have included some photos of Kiah the day after her surgery and 3 weeks after her surgery.
Three months later I find a lump in her neck on her thyroid so back to the vet again. Needle aspiration is inconclusive to cancer but it is a tumor. The next step is to have x-rays of her lungs to see if there are any signs of cancer since lungs are the first place cancer will metastasize. Thank goodness her lungs are clear of any lesions so we set a date for the specialist to come in to do the surgery. My vet will not do it since it is such a tricky surgery with the larynx and major blood vessels right there.
The day of the surgery the specialist calls me and says that since the tumor was caught right away and is moveable (not attached to blood vessels or larynx) she is optimistic that she will be able to remove the whole tumor. When Kiah is waking up she calls me to say all went well and the tumor will go out to check for cancer. It was cancer as expected.
I go back in to see the vet 10 days later to have Kiah's stitches removed and discuss what we do next. It ends up the tumor was small, 16cm plus it was totally removed so no chemo or radiation is recommended. If the tumor was 24cm or over it would have been different, radiation is recommended. I am ecstatic that Kiah will not have to go through radiation. Life expectancy barring any other non related health issues is 3-4+ years which will make Kiah almost 12-13+ years old. A good life expectancy for a Boxer.
It has been almost 5 weeks now since the surgery and Kiah has not been able to shed the weight so she is now on thyroid meds. The vet said that they do recommend medication after surgery even though blood work does not indicate the need as the remaining thyroid needs that support.
I can't tell you how pleased I am with the specialist, she was kind, compassionate and an excellent surgeon. I have heard that she travels all over the U.S.A. doing these kinds of surgeries, she is that good. I have included some photos of Kiah the day after her surgery and 3 weeks after her surgery.
Day after surgery
3 weeks after her surgery
Thursday, February 12, 2015
February-March 2015
3/19/2015 - Just had to post about how awesome Thor's contacts (2on 2off) are coming along, I am so proud of him. In class last night at the start line he was so ready to go; head down leaning forward, so intent and watching me like a hawk. I just love seeing that enthusiasm and his love for the game.
3/8/2015 - We had our club's 3-day trial, Thor did a bit better each day and on Saturday he got his second leg in Standard. Still dealing with run-offs if he gets ahead of me, doesn't really check in like he should. He is awesome and I love running with him, we will only get better as we go along.
Some Obedience in March, we will be doing pre-novice and I am looking forward to see how we do off leash in a trial setting. A day or two of agility towards the end of the month too.
Kiah was not able to run, she is still recovering from her surgery to remove her thyroid (cancerous tumor). I will write a different post on that.
Keegs was entered one day, the teeter was the 2nd obstacle. He is not pleased with the teeter and slid down it, landed wrong on his leg. He was not putting any weight on it so he was carried off the course. By the time he was carried to his crate he was able to put weight on it. It ended up only being a muscle pull, thank goodness. He has not had any issues since.
2/12/2015 - We didn't do so well at the CPE trial last weekend, the trial location makes Thor really nervous. Normally once he is in the ring, his nerves vanish but not at this location and I have no idea why. We will be trialing there often this spring so I hope the more we go the more the less nervous he will become.
My wonderful trainers, Diane Sanders and Beth Diehl along with Renee Fulcer's help showed last night in class. This is an excellent/masters course and since we are in Novice we do not run the whole course. Diane has been wonderful allowing Thor in this class. Renee took a video on her phone of the last run so I am including it in this post. Thor was still chewing his treat from the a-frame contact in the weaves which is why he did not complete them the first time. On the other runs he did complete them without issues. His turns are still wide but he is still a baby and we are both still learning so that will come in time. I love running this boy, he is just so much fun!
Thor's video
3/8/2015 - We had our club's 3-day trial, Thor did a bit better each day and on Saturday he got his second leg in Standard. Still dealing with run-offs if he gets ahead of me, doesn't really check in like he should. He is awesome and I love running with him, we will only get better as we go along.
Some Obedience in March, we will be doing pre-novice and I am looking forward to see how we do off leash in a trial setting. A day or two of agility towards the end of the month too.
Kiah was not able to run, she is still recovering from her surgery to remove her thyroid (cancerous tumor). I will write a different post on that.
Keegs was entered one day, the teeter was the 2nd obstacle. He is not pleased with the teeter and slid down it, landed wrong on his leg. He was not putting any weight on it so he was carried off the course. By the time he was carried to his crate he was able to put weight on it. It ended up only being a muscle pull, thank goodness. He has not had any issues since.
2/12/2015 - We didn't do so well at the CPE trial last weekend, the trial location makes Thor really nervous. Normally once he is in the ring, his nerves vanish but not at this location and I have no idea why. We will be trialing there often this spring so I hope the more we go the more the less nervous he will become.
My wonderful trainers, Diane Sanders and Beth Diehl along with Renee Fulcer's help showed last night in class. This is an excellent/masters course and since we are in Novice we do not run the whole course. Diane has been wonderful allowing Thor in this class. Renee took a video on her phone of the last run so I am including it in this post. Thor was still chewing his treat from the a-frame contact in the weaves which is why he did not complete them the first time. On the other runs he did complete them without issues. His turns are still wide but he is still a baby and we are both still learning so that will come in time. I love running this boy, he is just so much fun!
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Love, love this quote by Linda Mecklenburg
I need to practice this more with my dogs, they are all wonderful, unique and deserve to be treated this way. The picture in the background is my young dog Thor who is just beginning agility. He loves it but is not totally confident yet.
Friday, January 09, 2015
January 2015
January 24 - Great day at the Janesville-Beloit Kennel Club's Obedience & Rally Trial. Thor got his first leg in Rally Adv. Only 2 dogs qualified, we had the same score but Thor was a fraction of a second faster so he got first place. He was pretty good off leash and very happy at his attitude. Later in the day we had the second Rally trial and he also qualified in that too so now he has 2 legs in RA. Last one for the day was his last leg for his Beginner Novice Title. He did get more nervous and distracted as the day wore on but he is still a young boy yet so more confidence will come later. I am so proud of what he has accomplished so far.
We had some wild runs at the Agility trial earlier in the month so no qualifications. We have been working at keeping his attention so he doesn't run off and leave me. Making some progress but will know for sure on the 31st when we have our next agility trial. I don't expect miracles but would love to see some small improvements.
January 8 - A new month and a new year, great way to continue Thor's agility and obedience career. We have a trial this weekend, one day of obedience on the 24th and one day of an agility trial at the end of the month in which he will need to have his 2-year measurements. Having so much fun with him, he has a great attitude, enjoys himself and keeps improving, I couldn't ask for more from him at his age. He is such a great dog, love him.
Kiah and Keegs had a great time with my great-nephew house sitting with them but I do think they missed us. I know Thor was so happy to see them and be home after two long weekends of being gone and staying in a hotel.
Too bad it got so cold and so much snow on the ground that we can't do much outside, too hard on their feet. Thor has a real tough time even with his boots on. More later.......
We had some wild runs at the Agility trial earlier in the month so no qualifications. We have been working at keeping his attention so he doesn't run off and leave me. Making some progress but will know for sure on the 31st when we have our next agility trial. I don't expect miracles but would love to see some small improvements.
January 8 - A new month and a new year, great way to continue Thor's agility and obedience career. We have a trial this weekend, one day of obedience on the 24th and one day of an agility trial at the end of the month in which he will need to have his 2-year measurements. Having so much fun with him, he has a great attitude, enjoys himself and keeps improving, I couldn't ask for more from him at his age. He is such a great dog, love him.
Kiah and Keegs had a great time with my great-nephew house sitting with them but I do think they missed us. I know Thor was so happy to see them and be home after two long weekends of being gone and staying in a hotel.
Too bad it got so cold and so much snow on the ground that we can't do much outside, too hard on their feet. Thor has a real tough time even with his boots on. More later.......
Wednesday, December 03, 2014
Continue to learn
Today is another Dog Agility Blog Event Day - December 3, 2014; please visit all the blogs at: (http://dogagilityblogevents.wordpress.com/continuing-education/). Also please leave comments, we all enjoy hearing what you have to say.
Continuing education is a process, is it better to try new things or is is better to stay with what you know? With all the changes in agility, obedience and rally I feel it is necessary to continue to learn. What you learn may not work with your team but it may give some different ideas or bits of what you learn may help to make you a better team. If you don't continue to learn you can become stagnant, not able to handle the new course layouts and possibly continue to make the same mistakes you are making as you trial.
How do you continue to learn? Take seminars, listen to your instructors, talk to people at trials, watch and listen to others and be open to new ideas. Some things you may want to change others maybe not. Don't try something one time and say it doesn't work for you; you and your team mate need a chance to learn it together to truly test it. Don't continue to jump from one new idea to another it will end up being too confusing to both you and your dog.
As I progress in my agility career what I find most important to learn about are my dogs; why they do the things they do, what motivates them and how do I best communicate to them. All three of my Boxers are so different but also alike in many ways. I made so many mistakes with my first agility dog and do not want to repeat those. The best way to do that is to continue to learn, understand and be the best team mate on the other side of the leash.
Thanks for visiting and please remember to visit the other blogs, I am!!!!
Continuing education is a process, is it better to try new things or is is better to stay with what you know? With all the changes in agility, obedience and rally I feel it is necessary to continue to learn. What you learn may not work with your team but it may give some different ideas or bits of what you learn may help to make you a better team. If you don't continue to learn you can become stagnant, not able to handle the new course layouts and possibly continue to make the same mistakes you are making as you trial.
How do you continue to learn? Take seminars, listen to your instructors, talk to people at trials, watch and listen to others and be open to new ideas. Some things you may want to change others maybe not. Don't try something one time and say it doesn't work for you; you and your team mate need a chance to learn it together to truly test it. Don't continue to jump from one new idea to another it will end up being too confusing to both you and your dog.
As I progress in my agility career what I find most important to learn about are my dogs; why they do the things they do, what motivates them and how do I best communicate to them. All three of my Boxers are so different but also alike in many ways. I made so many mistakes with my first agility dog and do not want to repeat those. The best way to do that is to continue to learn, understand and be the best team mate on the other side of the leash.
Thanks for visiting and please remember to visit the other blogs, I am!!!!
Tuesday, December 02, 2014
Nov. - Dec, 2014
December 27-29, 2015 (Thors 3rd AKC trail)
Had a great time at the Doberman Pincher Club of Milwaukee in Oshkosh for their 3-day trial. Thor was silly zoomer during our T2B runs but I was using them to help settle him down, he is wild when he first gets out there. He qualified in Std with 85 points (1 W & 2 R) but still under time for his first leg in AKC, I am so proud of him. We had some great and not so great moments the rest of the weekend but I am so happy with how he is coming along.
December 17, 2015
This weekend Thor will be doing agility at the Tree Town Boxer Club trial, I will be working since I am a member but hope to have time to work with him before we run. I entered him in T2B so he isn't sitting and waiting until the novice classes. Keegs and Kiah are staying home with my great-nephew who will be house sitting for me since they are not entered. They will have way more fun with him instead of sitting in crates all day at the trial. Thor may be a bit lonely but he will be fine.
Tonight we go to class, our last training session before the trial. I hope each week I get more focus than the previous week. Eventually we will get it and become a team, just can't push him too fast and make it stressful. We need to have fun!
December 3, 2015
Thor is in the advanced dog class, Diane Sanders & Beth Diehl are the instructors. Diane is allowing him to come to class. I don't really have Thor's focus yet so they will be helping me with that. We are doing partial courses so as not to be too hard and discouraging for him. So happy, they are the best
December 1, 2014
November is gone and now it is already December. I am so not ready for winter, the cold, snow and ice make it difficult to get to the places that are not local. Good thing trials in this area are inside year round.
Thor had his first CPE and AKC trials during November. CPE started out wonderfully, he got a first place in Full House but something freaked him out during our Standard run and we didn't do well at all. In Jumpers he was still really uncomfortable so not so well in that class either. We will be doing an AKC trial at the same place later this month and I hope he doesn't remember that he was afraid there.
The AKC trial was at the club where we train and he is very comfortable there so I got a lot of zooms, not Kiah type of zooms but lose focus and run off type of zoom. We will be training hard on focus this month before his next trial.
I would like to do an obedience trial late January so we have to work harder on obedience too.
More later.......
Had a great time at the Doberman Pincher Club of Milwaukee in Oshkosh for their 3-day trial. Thor was silly zoomer during our T2B runs but I was using them to help settle him down, he is wild when he first gets out there. He qualified in Std with 85 points (1 W & 2 R) but still under time for his first leg in AKC, I am so proud of him. We had some great and not so great moments the rest of the weekend but I am so happy with how he is coming along.
December 17, 2015
This weekend Thor will be doing agility at the Tree Town Boxer Club trial, I will be working since I am a member but hope to have time to work with him before we run. I entered him in T2B so he isn't sitting and waiting until the novice classes. Keegs and Kiah are staying home with my great-nephew who will be house sitting for me since they are not entered. They will have way more fun with him instead of sitting in crates all day at the trial. Thor may be a bit lonely but he will be fine.
Tonight we go to class, our last training session before the trial. I hope each week I get more focus than the previous week. Eventually we will get it and become a team, just can't push him too fast and make it stressful. We need to have fun!
December 3, 2015
Thor is in the advanced dog class, Diane Sanders & Beth Diehl are the instructors. Diane is allowing him to come to class. I don't really have Thor's focus yet so they will be helping me with that. We are doing partial courses so as not to be too hard and discouraging for him. So happy, they are the best
December 1, 2014
November is gone and now it is already December. I am so not ready for winter, the cold, snow and ice make it difficult to get to the places that are not local. Good thing trials in this area are inside year round.
Thor had his first CPE and AKC trials during November. CPE started out wonderfully, he got a first place in Full House but something freaked him out during our Standard run and we didn't do well at all. In Jumpers he was still really uncomfortable so not so well in that class either. We will be doing an AKC trial at the same place later this month and I hope he doesn't remember that he was afraid there.
The AKC trial was at the club where we train and he is very comfortable there so I got a lot of zooms, not Kiah type of zooms but lose focus and run off type of zoom. We will be training hard on focus this month before his next trial.
I would like to do an obedience trial late January so we have to work harder on obedience too.
More later.......
Monday, September 22, 2014
Sept-Oct. 2014
It's not October yet, but so close I thought I will probably only get this post in before it's here and not much has been going on except a trial last weekend and another coming up this weekend. Kiah and Keegs were a bit goofy during their runs at the trial most probably because we haven't been to a trial in a while and haven't been to classes in a couple of weeks. I wasn't at my best either but we did have some great courses and lots of fun running them.
Going to start Thor in AKC at a Match in Oct and a trial in late Nov. if he does well at the match. I am nervous and excited to start running with him. My biggest concern is the noise and commotion close to the start line, he get very nervous. I plan to take him up to the running area this coming weekend to see if I can get him used to it and calm him down. More later......
October 24-26, 2014 -Kiah is retiring, she has had enough of agility trial stress so we will stick to classes, tracking and the fun things she loves. I think Keegs is going thru his second childhood, he has a blast this weekend running around the courses doing his own thing. Maybe it is the chillier weather but he sure is feisty.
Thor had his match on Sunday, what a fun, fun time running him. He did really well, there are things we need to work but we are beginning to read each other. It was a small match so not a lot of people or noise; Thor did so well with meeting new people and being friendly. Not a huge step but an improvement and I am so happy with it. Pulled out of a trial with Kiah and Keegs so entered a CPE trial that weekend with Thor to give him a bit more experience before the larger AKC trial in late November.
October 12, 2014 - More training at the club today, it was a fun course that was left up from the run-thru on Friday. Thor and I also did two runs during the run-thru, he did pretty well but not as much attention as I would prefer plus he kept going too fast and slid off the table. Have to use "easy" with him like I did with Kiah.
Keegs and Kiah got to run at the course too on Sunday. Kiah ran with a friend and I have asked her to run Kiah at an upcoming trial to see if I can get her out of her funk. I think she is feeling better, hopefully the supplements are helping her with the arthritis in her ankles.
Thor pounds the a-frame when he gets on so I put a hoop to teach him to run it from the bottom. I am hoping that will help. The club has only 1 so we ran it both ways so he can get his contact too. Really pleased with his progress but still have a lot of work to do before we communicate really well.
October 5, 2014 - Thor and I did some training at the club today. No course was setup but someone had setup some jumps; a line of 5 and a pinwheel with 3 jumps. The a-frame with a tunnel underneath and the dog walk with a tunnel were still there from the Wednesday class. There were also weaves set off by themselves. It worked out extremely well, much better than I had expected. Learned that I need to give Thor signals earlier for turns; he is starting to understand "go" to continue to the next obstacle and "out" to go out to a jump that is out of line. We worked on front crosses, rear crosses and even did a "Ketschker" which he read like a pro. I offset the jumps to make them more difficult and worked tunnel entrances. So proud of him during the training session but still need to work with him on focus when we first start training. Once he settles down he is great.
Going to start Thor in AKC at a Match in Oct and a trial in late Nov. if he does well at the match. I am nervous and excited to start running with him. My biggest concern is the noise and commotion close to the start line, he get very nervous. I plan to take him up to the running area this coming weekend to see if I can get him used to it and calm him down. More later......
October 24-26, 2014 -Kiah is retiring, she has had enough of agility trial stress so we will stick to classes, tracking and the fun things she loves. I think Keegs is going thru his second childhood, he has a blast this weekend running around the courses doing his own thing. Maybe it is the chillier weather but he sure is feisty.
Thor had his match on Sunday, what a fun, fun time running him. He did really well, there are things we need to work but we are beginning to read each other. It was a small match so not a lot of people or noise; Thor did so well with meeting new people and being friendly. Not a huge step but an improvement and I am so happy with it. Pulled out of a trial with Kiah and Keegs so entered a CPE trial that weekend with Thor to give him a bit more experience before the larger AKC trial in late November.
October 12, 2014 - More training at the club today, it was a fun course that was left up from the run-thru on Friday. Thor and I also did two runs during the run-thru, he did pretty well but not as much attention as I would prefer plus he kept going too fast and slid off the table. Have to use "easy" with him like I did with Kiah.
Keegs and Kiah got to run at the course too on Sunday. Kiah ran with a friend and I have asked her to run Kiah at an upcoming trial to see if I can get her out of her funk. I think she is feeling better, hopefully the supplements are helping her with the arthritis in her ankles.
Thor pounds the a-frame when he gets on so I put a hoop to teach him to run it from the bottom. I am hoping that will help. The club has only 1 so we ran it both ways so he can get his contact too. Really pleased with his progress but still have a lot of work to do before we communicate really well.
October 5, 2014 - Thor and I did some training at the club today. No course was setup but someone had setup some jumps; a line of 5 and a pinwheel with 3 jumps. The a-frame with a tunnel underneath and the dog walk with a tunnel were still there from the Wednesday class. There were also weaves set off by themselves. It worked out extremely well, much better than I had expected. Learned that I need to give Thor signals earlier for turns; he is starting to understand "go" to continue to the next obstacle and "out" to go out to a jump that is out of line. We worked on front crosses, rear crosses and even did a "Ketschker" which he read like a pro. I offset the jumps to make them more difficult and worked tunnel entrances. So proud of him during the training session but still need to work with him on focus when we first start training. Once he settles down he is great.
Wednesday, September 03, 2014
Hmmm! Training...not agility
Today is another Dog Agility Blog Event Day - Sept. 4, 2014, today's topic is "Outside The Ring". Please visit all the blogs at: (http://dogagilityblogevents.
Previous to this past year I have pretty much only done agility training except for a little obedience training here and there. With my new puppy Thor, still calling him a puppy even though he is almost 20 months old, I have been working more in obedience, teaching him tricks and also starting some core strengthening and rear end awareness exercises. Kiah and Keegs will also be doing the core strengthening which I feel is especially important now that they are both 8 years old.
In everyday life, I suppose the other things I do is to try my best to keep them healthy, active and happy. Good food, exercise, and a lot of love. I try to have one-on-one time with each dog so they don't feel left out. OK, maybe that is equating them with human emotions but that is how I think they feel so I am good with that. There is nothing worse than the sad, poor me look of a Boxer when they feel sad.
They learn if they finish their food early they do not get to try to eat from another bowl until that dog is finished. They stay in a down until their food is prepared, put down and they are released. They have to work (sit, down, do a trick) for any treats they get. Just everyday manners that will help when around other dogs at trials.
I am looking forward to reading what others are saying, I am sure I will learn so much, probably find some wonderful ideas to add to my things to do "Outside the ring"
Previous to this past year I have pretty much only done agility training except for a little obedience training here and there. With my new puppy Thor, still calling him a puppy even though he is almost 20 months old, I have been working more in obedience, teaching him tricks and also starting some core strengthening and rear end awareness exercises. Kiah and Keegs will also be doing the core strengthening which I feel is especially important now that they are both 8 years old.
In everyday life, I suppose the other things I do is to try my best to keep them healthy, active and happy. Good food, exercise, and a lot of love. I try to have one-on-one time with each dog so they don't feel left out. OK, maybe that is equating them with human emotions but that is how I think they feel so I am good with that. There is nothing worse than the sad, poor me look of a Boxer when they feel sad.
They learn if they finish their food early they do not get to try to eat from another bowl until that dog is finished. They stay in a down until their food is prepared, put down and they are released. They have to work (sit, down, do a trick) for any treats they get. Just everyday manners that will help when around other dogs at trials.
I am looking forward to reading what others are saying, I am sure I will learn so much, probably find some wonderful ideas to add to my things to do "Outside the ring"
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
August ALREADY!!!!!!
I can't believe it is almost the middle of August already.
Kiah, Keegs, Thor and I have been keeping up classes, some agility and some obedience trails the last couple of months. Not much to report in agility for Kiah and Keegs but we have only done a couple of trials and won't be doing more until mid-September. Thor is continuing with his classes in agility and obedience each week so he has been busy too.
Kiah and Thor have been doing a bit of obedience/rally each month. Thor has his RN title and two legs in beginner novice in obedience. We did try RA and regular novice but he is not ready for off leash, still too distracted by what is going on outside the ring. Kiah got her RN & RA titles but we will stick to Advanced for a while, I have to learn the different signs for Rally Excellent. She also got her beginner novice title at Tree Town Boxer Clubs/Midwest Boxer Club Ob/Rally trial, it was a special moment for us with a beautiful Title ribbon from Midwest Boxer Club. Thor was mesmerized by all of the Boxers. Wonderful fun trial for all of us.
Kiah, Keegs, Thor and I have been keeping up classes, some agility and some obedience trails the last couple of months. Not much to report in agility for Kiah and Keegs but we have only done a couple of trials and won't be doing more until mid-September. Thor is continuing with his classes in agility and obedience each week so he has been busy too.
Kiah and Thor have been doing a bit of obedience/rally each month. Thor has his RN title and two legs in beginner novice in obedience. We did try RA and regular novice but he is not ready for off leash, still too distracted by what is going on outside the ring. Kiah got her RN & RA titles but we will stick to Advanced for a while, I have to learn the different signs for Rally Excellent. She also got her beginner novice title at Tree Town Boxer Clubs/Midwest Boxer Club Ob/Rally trial, it was a special moment for us with a beautiful Title ribbon from Midwest Boxer Club. Thor was mesmerized by all of the Boxers. Wonderful fun trial for all of us.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
What a day!!!!!!
I am beyond ecstatic, Thor and Kiah did so well June 15 at the North Shore Club Obedience and Rally trial in Libertyville, IL. They both got legs in their Rally classes in spite of mess ups from me. Kiah now has 2 legs in Rally Advanced A and Thor got his 7th leg in Rally Novice. Next trial Thor will be entered in Rally Advanced.
Now the awesome news; Thor got a 198 in Beginner Novice A for his first leg with a first place. He was just so awesome especially the healing and figure 8. It should be his second leg but the judge at the last trial called the second recall an NQ but I found out later that it was allowed. I am sure he would have qualified though, it was still a good practice. I was just so excited I was in LaLa land so when he said Kiah was second place I truly zoned out, so much so that I don't recall if he said a 197 or a 196. Either way I was so happy. There were only 4 dogs in the class, all qualified so everyone got a placement which was great.
Now the awesome news; Thor got a 198 in Beginner Novice A for his first leg with a first place. He was just so awesome especially the healing and figure 8. It should be his second leg but the judge at the last trial called the second recall an NQ but I found out later that it was allowed. I am sure he would have qualified though, it was still a good practice. I was just so excited I was in LaLa land so when he said Kiah was second place I truly zoned out, so much so that I don't recall if he said a 197 or a 196. Either way I was so happy. There were only 4 dogs in the class, all qualified so everyone got a placement which was great.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Success-"What, who said we failed"
Today is another Dog Agility Blog Event Day - June 4, 2014; please visit all the blogs at: (http://dogagilityblogevents.
If success means getting a lot of Q's then I guess you can say we (Kiah, Keegs and me) are failures. If success means we continue to learn and grow then we are becoming more successful all the time.
Each person's measurement of success will be different. I have learned a lot from one of my instructors about mental attitude, setting obtainable goals and keeping a positive attitude. She turned me on to Lanny Bassham's "With Winning in Mind" a set of CD's that give you a program to a positive mental management system. I have been listening to these CD's a lot lately, it makes me think about how negative attitudes, negative comments I make about my performances or setting goals too high can spiral into continued failures which then become the norm.
When I am complimented on a run, even though I am pleased at the compliment I have a tendency to mention what went wrong rather than just saying thank you. What I am doing is reinforcing negatives rather then celebrate the positives. I do compliement others on their runs and plan to do it more often which will build a positive attitude in myself and hopefully others.
Lately my goal has been to relearn how to have fun with my dogs (and them with me), not to take agility, obedience or rally so seriously and to celebrate the very small successes. Slowly but surely this is beginning to happen; I am more excited about going to trials and enjoying myself more while I am there. If we never Q, but have a blast working as a team I will consider myself the most successful handler there. If in the process we do get a Q, it will be icing on the cake.
I am a great handler who has fun with her dogs, brings out the best in them while they have fun. That is like me! (a part of a directive affirmation statement....).
If success means getting a lot of Q's then I guess you can say we (Kiah, Keegs and me) are failures. If success means we continue to learn and grow then we are becoming more successful all the time.
Each person's measurement of success will be different. I have learned a lot from one of my instructors about mental attitude, setting obtainable goals and keeping a positive attitude. She turned me on to Lanny Bassham's "With Winning in Mind" a set of CD's that give you a program to a positive mental management system. I have been listening to these CD's a lot lately, it makes me think about how negative attitudes, negative comments I make about my performances or setting goals too high can spiral into continued failures which then become the norm.
When I am complimented on a run, even though I am pleased at the compliment I have a tendency to mention what went wrong rather than just saying thank you. What I am doing is reinforcing negatives rather then celebrate the positives. I do compliement others on their runs and plan to do it more often which will build a positive attitude in myself and hopefully others.
Lately my goal has been to relearn how to have fun with my dogs (and them with me), not to take agility, obedience or rally so seriously and to celebrate the very small successes. Slowly but surely this is beginning to happen; I am more excited about going to trials and enjoying myself more while I am there. If we never Q, but have a blast working as a team I will consider myself the most successful handler there. If in the process we do get a Q, it will be icing on the cake.
I am a great handler who has fun with her dogs, brings out the best in them while they have fun. That is like me! (a part of a directive affirmation statement....).
May-June 2014
Thor and Kiah had Ob\Rally trial on May 31st. They both did really well; Thor got another leg in Rally Novice B and almost got a leg in Beginner Novice A but I had to call him a 2nd time on the recall which was an automatic NQ. Up until that point he did awesome. Kiah lagged a bit in Rally Advanced A but ended up with a 94 which gave her a first place. In beginner novice A she got her first leg (3rd) with an 189.5. It was a wonderful day.
No agility trials in May but will be doing some Rally & Obedience with Kiah and Thor. We are continuing agility classes. Thor and I will also be doing some private lessons with our obedience instructor to get him ready for Novice Obedience at my club (Tree Town Boxer Club) trial in early August. In the mean time we will be doing some Beginner Novice practice at trials.
No agility trials in May but will be doing some Rally & Obedience with Kiah and Thor. We are continuing agility classes. Thor and I will also be doing some private lessons with our obedience instructor to get him ready for Novice Obedience at my club (Tree Town Boxer Club) trial in early August. In the mean time we will be doing some Beginner Novice practice at trials.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
March, April 2014
April 18-20 - Greater Milwaukee Doberman Club Trial-
Another set of great courses and great judges, had a wonderful time. Kiah did get her first Q in Master Preferred Jumper and 1 PACH point on Saturday. We are just getting together as a team after some really bad ring stress so I am extremely pleased. Keegs was his happy goofy self and we had fun running but no Q's for him. Kiah didn't run on Sunday, jammed her toe the night before and was limping so let her rest so she could heal.
April 12-13 - Medallion Rottweiler Club Trail-
A fun trial with really great courses and judges. We had more good things then bad but no Q's for either Keegs or Kiah.
March 29 - Lakeland Dog Training Club Rally Trial-
Kiah got her Rally Novice title and 4th place with an 89. I lost her 10 points by forgetting a halt at one of the stations, didn't even realize it until someone told me when we finished. Doesn't matter, I know she was fabulous.
Thor got his 5th leg with a score of 88, we are still having issues with fronts and finishes, he doesn't want to turn his back on things. Will continue to build his confidence.
March 22-23 - WAG Agility Trial -
Keegs ran on Saturday, we had fun but no Q's. Keegan and I need to connect more.
Kiah ran on Sunday, we qualified and Kiah got her Excellent Title in JWW. The Standard run was not so good but we can only take baby steps to get her back on track.
Palmer's Flirting With Fire (Kiah)
23-Mar-2014
JWW-EX-PRE - 20 Inch - Judge: Christie Bowers
Distance: 160 yards - SCT: 50 seconds
Score: 100(Q) - Time: 45.48 seconds - 1st place
March has been a busy month, we had our club's 3-day agility trial (March 7-9). As always it was fun but busy. Kiah and Keegs ran, no Q's but with some good things in each run. Friends ran Kiah on Sunday to see if we can get her to feel less stress in a trial environment. I stress her terribly, she is so afraid she will make a mistake and does not feel that pressure when others run her. She did zoom with Renee but came right back to her and ran the rest of the course. When Diane ran her, Kiah did not watch her as she should have but that was the first time Diane had run her in a trial.
March 15 - Badger Dog Club Rally Trial I & II
Thor got his title with a score of 93 in the first trial. Handler error and a nervous puppy got us a score of 81 for the second trial.
Kiah got her first leg with a score of 96 in the first trial. Second leg in the second trial with a score of 83; 10 points off due to the handler not noticing on the last station her elbows were not touching on the down. Kiah did have fun and was not stressed, her tail was up the entire time :-)
Really proud of both of them. Keegs hates Rally so he was cheerleader and supporter for Thor and Kiah.
March 16 - USDAA trial at Forest City.
I entered because one of my trainers, Diane Sanders said she would run Kiah for me. Had a great time and Diane did really well with Kiah. Here is the video of her running Kiah in Jumpers. First place in 20" performance, 24.38 seconds. jumpers.
Another set of great courses and great judges, had a wonderful time. Kiah did get her first Q in Master Preferred Jumper and 1 PACH point on Saturday. We are just getting together as a team after some really bad ring stress so I am extremely pleased. Keegs was his happy goofy self and we had fun running but no Q's for him. Kiah didn't run on Sunday, jammed her toe the night before and was limping so let her rest so she could heal.
April 12-13 - Medallion Rottweiler Club Trail-
A fun trial with really great courses and judges. We had more good things then bad but no Q's for either Keegs or Kiah.
March 29 - Lakeland Dog Training Club Rally Trial-
Kiah got her Rally Novice title and 4th place with an 89. I lost her 10 points by forgetting a halt at one of the stations, didn't even realize it until someone told me when we finished. Doesn't matter, I know she was fabulous.
Thor got his 5th leg with a score of 88, we are still having issues with fronts and finishes, he doesn't want to turn his back on things. Will continue to build his confidence.
March 22-23 - WAG Agility Trial -
Keegs ran on Saturday, we had fun but no Q's. Keegan and I need to connect more.
Kiah ran on Sunday, we qualified and Kiah got her Excellent Title in JWW. The Standard run was not so good but we can only take baby steps to get her back on track.
Palmer's Flirting With Fire (Kiah)
23-Mar-2014
JWW-EX-PRE - 20 Inch - Judge: Christie Bowers
Distance: 160 yards - SCT: 50 seconds
Score: 100(Q) - Time: 45.48 seconds - 1st place
March has been a busy month, we had our club's 3-day agility trial (March 7-9). As always it was fun but busy. Kiah and Keegs ran, no Q's but with some good things in each run. Friends ran Kiah on Sunday to see if we can get her to feel less stress in a trial environment. I stress her terribly, she is so afraid she will make a mistake and does not feel that pressure when others run her. She did zoom with Renee but came right back to her and ran the rest of the course. When Diane ran her, Kiah did not watch her as she should have but that was the first time Diane had run her in a trial.
March 15 - Badger Dog Club Rally Trial I & II
Thor got his title with a score of 93 in the first trial. Handler error and a nervous puppy got us a score of 81 for the second trial.
Kiah got her first leg with a score of 96 in the first trial. Second leg in the second trial with a score of 83; 10 points off due to the handler not noticing on the last station her elbows were not touching on the down. Kiah did have fun and was not stressed, her tail was up the entire time :-)
Really proud of both of them. Keegs hates Rally so he was cheerleader and supporter for Thor and Kiah.
March 16 - USDAA trial at Forest City.
I entered because one of my trainers, Diane Sanders said she would run Kiah for me. Had a great time and Diane did really well with Kiah. Here is the video of her running Kiah in Jumpers. First place in 20" performance, 24.38 seconds. jumpers.
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