OMG - He Pranced!

I had a sense, even tho Tuesday's obedience lesson was dismal, that we were on the edge of a major breakthrough. I dare not jinx it by putting it into words. Yesterday, there it was - a puppy with attitude! Was it where we were training? We were in the "front yard" (three acres in front of the house) and the other four dogs were at the fence watching. Whatever the reason Moto is getting it! During heeling his mouth parted in a smile and out puffed his chest and he pranced as he heeled. Oh you bet I rewarded that behavior. I even had a puppy that was forging. Now that is a problem I love! Even pivots were good and no combativeness. I was absolutely thrilled with this.
Just to make sure it wasn't a fluke I put the dogs in the basement this morning and we worked in the fenced back yard. Yup I have a puppy with attitude! He is enjoying his training now and I cannot say how thrilling that is. I hope this keeps up as we made huge strides today. He's coming into the dumbbell now and can hold it for several seconds without me hovering around him. He is very proud he can hold the dumbbell. I offer the sit or down command unexpectedly and the sit is a bit slow but the down....WOW it is beautiful. Fronts are lovely. Even finishes are making progress. I might actually have an obedience dog! One thing I did differently just to break things up is offer Moto "brains in a can" (Cheez Whiz) during pivots. This is the piggiest dog I've ever owned and he literally turns inside out for spray cheese. When he pivoted nicely and worked hard at sitting correct he got some cheese. He really loved that game this morning.
Blitz begged and cried to work so we did a little bit of heeling and a recall. This set Shiloh off so we did some articles and go-outs. Even old Dusty then wanted a turn so we did a short track and he adored hunting for the hot dogs in my footsteps.
To end all the training I gathered all dogs up for a sit and down drill - what a hoot! Whomever sat or downed first got a treat first. Even Daisy who shuns work came in and worked for treats. Their morning ended with the usual game of fetch so I left five tired and happy pups at home with Dad who is working from home today. I'm pretty happy too!

Tracking vs. Obedience

Yesterday's obedience lesson was less than inspiring. Even though Moto had not eaten breakfast he still was not willing to do mechanical work such as his nemesis, the pivot drill. Out came the microprong (again *sigh*). My trainer says he will just have to be made to do this, to work on the happy part once he gets past this rough spot. Unfortunately I'm afraid I agree. Now heeling is fine as is the "fun stuff" like lateral work and side work, which is very much like dog dancing. He is also readily accepting the dumbbell which is really great. He has a nice fast recall and he's beginning to understand how to be correct on fronts. Finishes - oh dear. Not horrid but with a dog like this we NEED to be correct out of the gate. The little mini bull terrier is doing so much better than us, as is the Dobie puppy. It's great to see all these different breeds, I just wish we were ramping up faster than we are.
Now tracking - hoo boy what a star! I laid two tracks this morning and already Moto is bored. I need to contact our instructor as he gets it and is ready for more. Now he rapidly trots, head down, to the glove. He is already offering the down behavior at articles. I believe he is ready for turns. He's moving at warp speed and I believe the TD will be his first title.
But again, this proves Laurie's "problem solver" theory. Moto loves to think, can remain focused and solve problems. This afternoon we will train again so I need to come up with some obedience training puzzles for him.
Hubby has a business dinner tonight so I get to eat what I want: liver yum! I bake whatever is left over into doggie treats so everyone wins!

Dogs Are Problem Solvers

Gosh, wish I'd thought of that title myself, but it's trainer Connie Cleveland who says and teaches this method. After talking with my friend and brilliant trainer Laurie, I think this will be Moto's creed. After spending time with him tracking (the dog is amazing) and remembering how quickly he learned the weave poles, she helped me come to the conclusion that this dog prefers to think rather than be shown that to do. In other words, he's too darned smart! Of course there are some things he will need to be shown the mechanics of but I need to change my training program to be a series of puzzles and problems for him to solve. If he can think it through he will be far more interested than me simply saying "this is the way to do it, now do it". I knew he would be challenging me but now I'm really being challenged!
Saturday morning we all got up and I was going to take the dogs out to train. I took one look at Blitz and knew immediately he was going on another downhill slide. Nothing drastic, but it was the look in his eyes, the earset and tailset that said that wonderful joy of feeling great was gone. We've gone through this for almost 2 years now and you would think I would be stronger, but it breaks my heart every single time. I want to hug him and cry, but I don't want him to feel my sadness. So I smile, take a deep breath, swallow the lump in my throat and we move through our day. Clearly he's not well enough to train so will go back to just enjoying his life and making him comfortable. Just writing this puts tears in my eyes.
On a happier note, I was thrilled my friend Kathy called to say her new puppy earned a 200 in OPEN! Her other dog got a 199.5. How amazing is THAT???
That was how my Sunday night ended. Hearing her weekend report puts the fire in my belly and with a new method of training to think about, we begin our week.
Onward and forward - all five dogs are here and I'm grateful for them all!

Dumbbell Training

Yesterday was a rainy cold day so we started some dumbbell training with Mr. Moto. I use the Platt's method of introduction as I like it best: open dog's mouth, insert dumbbell, hold mouth closed, stroke dog and gently say "good hold" for a few seconds, say "out" take out dumbbell and quickly treat. I feel this teaches the dog it's not a toy, instills the importance ot taking the dumbbell, and is far more kind than the ear pinch for introduction. Well Moto didn't like it much and bit down HARD on the wooden bar. Today I'll use a plastic dumbbell. Yesterday we did the dumbbell about five times, each time he didn't want to take it. He's a smart little guy and I'm hoping he'll learn to take it for a treat in short order.
Meantime I'm brushing up Shiloh in Utility since he needs the mental stimulation. It's paying off big-time in that he's much less restless in the home and he realizes he "gets" to work with me so his attitude is really drivey. Shiloh always was a good worker and fun to train but he's getting far more pleasure out of being with me than previous.
And Blitz of course is beside himself and keeping him calm while working is the biggest order of the day. I keep he and Moto's training very brief: Moto because he's still a baby dog and Blitz as i don't want to stress him. Don't know if that can cause him to have a setback with his disease. Yesterday when I came home from work (Blitz had trained briefly that morning) he had a sneezing fit, and bled lightly from the tip of his nose.
On Sunday Moto will have his second tracking lesson. This is the venue where he is showing greatest promise so far. If all goes as planned we can certify him in a few months as he is picking it up in leaps and bounds!

A lovely Fall Day

I love Tuesdays since they are my day off. I sleep in if I wish (typically about 6:30 a.m.) and don't have to rush. All I need to do is get ready for my Obedience lesson in a few hours. This morning was kind of special as Blitz has really been feeling good and we've had no further bleeding incidents. I took both Blitz and Moto to class. The joy in Blitz was palpable and he worked like a demon, simply for the joy of working. This is one special dog, and could have competed in Crufts. His heeling style is perfect for the UKC program. I had forgotten how beautiful he was heeling and what a joy it is to work with him.
I swapped both dogs back and forth pretty quickly so no one dog worked more than 10 minutes at a time. I started with Blitz heeling and then brought out Moto and he did some pretty nice attention heeling as well. But of course, we're just doing some circles and making it fast, fun and dynamic but he is keeping his head up nicely. Then some pivots with Blitz who could barely contain himself. Next was Moto who wasn't in the mood for pivots. He was sluggish and extremely sloppy. Food lures were not motivating him to do better so back out came the microprong. He needed one pop and he perked back up. He is so like his dad in that you can see the Storm Clouds brewing in his eyes...after that pop he was seriously thinking of challenging me but thank goodness he remembered that he doesn't win those fights. One thing about this dog is he's very in tune with my emotions and he can feel disappointment as well as approval. I tried very hard to give him "good vibes" when he put forth some effort to please. Gosh, when are we going to break through this? I do hope we pick up steam at some point.
So my lesson was really an eye-opener for me as I had two dogs that I have to train completely differently: with Blitz you just show him and he will do it. The downside with Blitz is his extreme sensitivity to being touched. If we ever step back into the show ring he will need lost of conditioning so that he knows things won't move and touch him. Moto, on the other hand, can work under most any condition - a tornado could be coming and he will stil work. His downside is he doesnt' seem to enjoy actually working! He needs a strong pack leader who is always consistent. So two opposite ends of the spectrum - I am being challenged to the limit of my training abilities! Lord help me!
Coming home the winds picked up and there is a chill in the air. The beautiful fall leaves are coming off the trees. Ladybugs buzz by in the hundreds. We were treated to a lovely storm with thunder and lightening and this inspired me to make some white chili with cornbread. YUM!
Fall is just the best!

Hopes, bars come crashing down

That bee sting at 4:00 a.m. should have been a sign but did I listen? Nooooooooo. Saturday morning we got up to get ready for Shiloh's agility trial. All the dogs went out to potty and when they came in I noticed a bug of some sort on its back. Puppy Moto went to check it out and jumped back quickly and ran away. This was not good and on closer inspection I realized it was a bee. I had to chase down the poor little guy and saw the stinger still buried in his nose. Now I had to run thru the house and quickly find tweezers, quickly find Moto again and somehow hold him still and tweeze that stinger out. Bless his little heart he held still long enough for me to get the whole thing out and fortunately he didn't seem worse for the wear...no swelling and no pain evidenced. Whew that was close! Now I was fully awakened and finished preparations for our departure.
Sign #2 it was going to be a bad day: total confusion at the check-in desk, the computer had printed everything out with no order whatsoever, not alphabetically, not in any reason anyone could locate themself. So tempers were flaring as people tried to find themselves on the check-in sheet. Once I got in there and found my name I realized the move-up wasn't reflected. ARGH. Back to trial sect'y to get it straightened out.
Once all that was done I got the course maps and they were nice! Really well-laid out, flowing courses. I was confident and actually excited to get into the ring. Standard was first and we took off running beautifully. After the A-frame (which was close to the end) my mind went blank. Crap! As I looked around for where I was to be next Shiloh came off his contact frustrated, I remembered where we were to go but of course I was out of position - it was the triple which really needed support so Shiloh went around it - NQ. RATS. I was really devastated by my brain fart. Well don't give up let's try Jumpers. Again, a really nice course. I even walked it with no front crosses so I wouldn't get turned around. The course was nice and again I thought we could do it. Since I'd majorly blown the triple in the previous course I supported the heck out of this triple but Shiloh had lost confidence in me and crashed it. Don't give up, keep going and into the weaves we went...crap....my mind went blank again! Look around, he's finishing the weaves, there's a jump take that it was right but where next there's another jump take that RATS I should have gone into the tunnel....we finished the course, I celebrated with Shiloh and of course he got his treats. But gosh how devastating. Failing your talented dog is not a good feeling. Poor Shiloh, he's stuck with me, his memory-impaired mom.
It's hard not to beat myself up mentally. I'm trying to look at it as "when one door closes, another one opens". So we are in a point of seeing what new path we will take. Shiloh is too good of a dog to retire completely. Couch-potato-hood does not suit him.
Agility aside, Moto did well at the trial and went through his obedience training very well. Noisy surroundings do not bother him and he can do his job anywhere. This is great stuff! And Blitz is BEGGING to work. I think I will take him to my lessons with me and swap he and Moto back and forth and see how it goes. This has always been unprecedented territory and no one knows how stress of training and showing affects DM dogs so I need to be very careful. Maybe Shiloh will return to the ring to do Utility? We'll see. Only if he wants to and enjoys it.
We're expecting some snow this week - just flurries. I harvested the rest of the peppers, cut them up and froze them for future use. Brought in the remaining basil and made more pesto. Good-bye little garden. Thanks for all the wonderful bounty you brought us this summer!

Future Tracking Star!

It's so much fun doing all the different venues and finding out what each dog excels in - Dusty enjoyed Obedience, Shiloh agility, Blitz Obedience, and I think Mr. Moto is going to LOVE tracking. Honestly this is the smartest dog I've ever had. He went to his very first tracking lesson yesterday afternoon and as he watched, my trainer laid a long track (50 paces) with a hot dog in every other footstep with a glove at the end. I was concerned that the track was too long but she said to give it a go. Well no worries needed Moto took off so fast he actually missed a few hot dogs. He went straight to the glove. He was so fast and so good my trainer asked if I'd worked with him previous to this which of course I hadn't. So we laid another track with the same results. WOW! So we tried one more where my trainer held Moto as I laid a track. This time he was a bit more methodical and made sure he got every single hot dog but his head never went up, never looked around, he stayed true to his work and went right to the glove. Amazing.
So we will do some tracking and hope to certify in the spring. I was very proud of my baby boy!
This weekend Shiloh and I are off to an agility trial. I feel good and confident. I've struggled with remembering courses but I'm not going to let that get in the way of our qualifying this weekend. Shiloh deserves to have a MACH but it's up to me to remember those blasted courses. He's a good fast consistent runner and can do it if I can hold up my end of the bargain.

Retrieving Daze

It's a typical fall day in the Midwest - in the low 50's, light rain with a breeze. Perfect Sheltie weather but not so good for training outdoors! So I thought I'd take advantage of being indoors to work on our retrieve and some smaller training blocks.
First, I realized I'm going too fast on teaching the Front. He really doesn't understand what it means so I've back-chained to where I'm just inches away and lure with food. He's got better control of his rear now and I saw that now he is able to do a nice tuck-sit straight. Moto learns really fast so I need to do this correctly from the beginning. So far he's coming in and raising his head - I don't need the famous "Sheltie bonk" nose touch! I need to do this a few times a day before we can move forward. No call to front on the recall for awhile.
The retrieve: oh, dear. Moto really doesn't care to play with toys. I brought out one he'd never seen before and while his eyes brightened seeing it for the first time it took a LOT for him to chase out and get it: I had to make it move a lot, let him chase it a bit like a cat, then threw it out. If it went too far (3 feet seemed to be the deciding factor) he would not go get it. I'm using the flexi to bring him back quickly and had to re-throw quickly or he would lose interest. Couldn't do this more than 3 times. If I use food as a reward his desire to retrieve drops to zero. Then, I tried to engage him in a game of tug. He'd play politely but seemed to do it just to please me rather than be interested in the actual game. Rolled around with him, roughhoused and again he played but it was very polite and not real active play.
We didn't work for more than 10 minutes but he was done, wanted outta there and back with the pack.
If this trend continues I will probably isolate him when I'm at work, then we'll train and play when I come home, THEN he can see the pack.
We'll see what tomorrow brings. More than heeling or anything else, I need to be his treat, not the pack.

Great Class!

Blitz update: after speaking with the specialist I'm not worried at this point. He'd never heard of such a thing so I did some research (so lucky to be in the days of Google!) and found out that some humans who have DM have experienced esophageal bleeding. I've always suspected the esophagus has been affected as his voice has always had a husky quality to it. So he gets excited, his blood pressure goes up, and those tiny veins burst in the weakened areas causing bleeding - that is my theory. Interestingly enough we had a good tug game today as well as the daily run/fetch and he didn't bleed at all. Was he less excited or was this just a quick downturn? We'll never know I hope!
Today was supposed to be the first day of obedience puppy class but no one showed up...one person was sick, another had car trouble, and another was at their nationals and out of town. However one student came early with his American Pit Bull so we did some training with them. This dog is a lovely representative of her breed - wish there were more responsible owners like these people! She failed to hold her stand for exam because she was so excited I came to "pet" her and wanted to kiss my hand. She's a very bouncy happy dog and it was a great test to see if we could do some attention work with the bouncing bully dog! Moto is like his dad it seems in that he is a very serious worker and he paid attention whenever it was asked. I was thrilled with this. We did some lateral work which is coming along very quickly.
The next big obstacle is to really work that retrieve. He still doesn't have a good concept of it yet, and we'll be introducing the dumbell in a few weeks, once most of those adult teeth are in.
But today was a great day and I'm very proud of my Moto Man!

It was nice while it lasted

I spoke too soon, Blitz is not getting better. Instead we have a scary new development. I went to the Lawrence, KS obedience trial to visit friends, watch the show and socialize Moto. When I came home Blitz was so up and happy and gave me a vigorous jumpy greeting. Then he produced a tug toy begging me to play and of course we immediately began a fun game of tug. Then I noticed there was blood on my hand. Thought he'd somehow nicked me then I saw blood in his mouth. Checked all his teeth (fine) checked gums (nice and pink) and just thought it was a fluke...maybe a small cut from playing. Today when we went outside to play a good game of fetch Blitz started sneezing and sneezing, then the tip of his nose started bleeding and there was blood in his mouth. I brought him inside to check him out and he was acting like "what is all the fuss Mom?" He obviously was in no pain or distress and once he quieted down he stopped bleeding. This cannot be a good sign. Tomorrow, I pray his specialist is in town so I can speak to him. I just gave Blitz a hug and said "well at least it was a great couple of days".
Moto training diary:
Moto did great at the Obedience trial. Was well-behaved in his crate and never uttered a sound. I was free to walk around the rings without worrying about him barking. He met many children and people and never once balked at being petted by a stranger. This dog is unflappable! I checked in with my friend and trainer Kathy to see how he is progressing. She gave me some good pointers (do not yo-yo treats, do not present treats until work begins) and DO NOT PUSH TOO HARD. I am not patient. He is doing GREAT, he just turned five months this weekend! She also gave me some good lateral exercises I can build on and I am excited to start teaching this. Kathy is my inspiration - she's been to Crufts twice, won the NOI and had the #1 Obedience dog, all breed, in OTCH points. No one person has ever achieved all that. She is in the AKC hall of fame. One can only hope to be as good! And....she's a nice person too!

Shooting Stars, Rising Stars

The weather in the Midwest has been fantastic - dry air, clear skies, moderate temps. At Shiloh's agility class on Wednesday we all were treated to a meteor crossing the sky - a huge blue flame that broke apart into a shower of light. Simply amazing. Then at Moto's agility class last night there was a shooting star flying across the heavens.
Along with that and my recent attendance at a psychic fair, I'm feeling, well, psychic!
Both Shiloh and Moto were fantastic at their respective classes. Shiloh flew over all the jumps and even though he's almost 9, he is picking up speed. Not good for me as I can't remember the courses when he goes that fast! It will be our challenge...me remembering courses. We'd be well on our way to the MACH quest if it weren't for my brain farts. Moto was fearless learning all the new obstacles and I can see he is going to have a gorgeous jumping style. He may not be fast, but he will move beautifully through the agility course.
Coming home last night Blitz greeted me with unusual enthusiasm. His eyes were clear and he pawed and pawed at me. I had a flash of insight from him - he feels good! He wants to work again! I remembered an article on dermatomyositis that said "sometimes a dog can spontaneously heal. There is no explanation for this." Will this happen to Blitz? If he continues to feel good, we'll cautiously begin training again. It would be so special if he could enter the show ring again. We'll see. Even if not, I'm enjoying seeing the sparkle in his eyes again.
Moto training diary:
Today I introduced the "mark" command. He is very bright and learned it after 3 tries. I also introduced the glove. We'll need to work on quick clean pickups but he does like the glove. Heeling is now moving along quickly. I need to continue to be patient. We no longer need the microprong as he is working with a great attitude. Pivots, finishes, and fronts are coming along nicely.

New AX Dog

I received quite the surprise in the mail yesterday - a large envelope from the AKC. It looked like a certificate envelope, and I thought it was one of those "thank you" certificates they hand out when you volunteer for some AKC events. I'd already been thanked in such a manner twice for working the same event so I was thinking - again? Why do they keep thanking me - enough already! When to my surprise and delight, it said Shiloh had achieve his AX on September 14. This was kind of stunning, as I'd thought we'd NQ'd that weekend. So...either the judge made a mistake (missed an off course) or I made a mistake and thought we'd NQ'd, didn't look at the results sheets, when in fact we had qualified. So one more AXJ leg and we'll be off working double Q's towards that MACH. My '08 goal with Shiloh is half achieved now!
Moto training diary:
After an AWFUL class last week, all the hard work paid off! I had a dog with a nice attitude, willing to work, great attention, did everything willingly. The most exciting part was my trainer, who in the past did not like attention heeling, worked with me and actually HELPED me with his attention training. I'm so lucky to have a trainer who is willing to change with their student's needs. We did some pivots, some very minor attention heeling, worked on finishes (I was thrilled with his finishes!), fronts and recalls. Moto is an unflappable puppy, and as such we are moving him into the novice class next week and I am very excited about that!

1 Nightmare, 2 Good Days

Saturday night, I had "the nightmare" again. I wonder if other owners of DM dogs have this dream? See, when the disease first presented itself in Blitz it did so with a tiny bald spot, and each day it grew dramatically until he had no hair on his face, it fell out over all his knuckles on his feet and he was covered with blood blisters. It was horrifying. He fortunately recovered from the initial outbreak and while he grew lots of hair back, when he has another setback I discover it by chunks of hair falling out. So, I dream that he comes out of his crate each morning completely hairless. The sad part of this dream is if he lives long enough, eventually it will be true. But for now he has most of the hair on his back and sides and some on his face. Anyway had to write it down to see what brings on these dreams, if there is a pattern.
Now on to the fun part! We had a fun match on Sunday and I brought Moto and Blitz. Blitz was so happy to get out and do some work. With absolutely no training whatsoever he only missed the first halt (didn't stop, came to front) but heeled like the Tennessee Walker style he has which is so flashy and pretty. He never missed at all with his attention which was lovely. It was so much fun to have him out there and he was so happy to be working again.
I put Moto in the sit stays before taking him into the ring. He was perfect on his sit (on leash, me six feet away). But on the down he decided to challenge me by downing but rolling onto one hip. He struggled a bit but finally gave in to a nice straight down and we got in about 1.5 minutes of the long down.
When warming up Mr. Moto, for the ring he was his usual "ho-hum" self (ARGH) so I put on the micro prong collar. Fortunately that was all it took, he remembered the correction. So into the ring we went! We did some round ring heeling and he managed to keep his head up most of the time which I richly praised and rewarded with food. We didn't do a sit...one issue at a time please! Stand for exam was fine as was the recall. Moto gave a good effort so I was pleased with some progress.
Then this morning was the best in a long time! Moto was very up and we did pivot drills with good attitude AND accuracy. Heeling was good too! Again not many sits, just walking in circles, a change of pace (fast, his issue) and he did it and had great attitude and attention. I was absolutely thrilled. We did some nice recalls and I reinforced the down. The finishes are really coming along, especiall the "around" finish. All good!
Tomorrow is our lesson. I need to be careful and not push too hard, I don't want to undo the positive work I've done these past few days. I think (hope) he is getting it!

Heeling woes

It's SO unfair to compare one dog to another! I have to stop doing this. It never was a problem with Dusty and Shiloh and Blitz, but once I got Blitz I realized this was the dog that could do everything I ever dreamed of, and he loved Obedience with the same passion I do. Well, he's too ill to work or show now so that is that.
So I have Moto - the son of my beloved OTCH dog Shiloh - and I got exactly what I asked for: an intelligent, strong, CHALLENGING dog! While I love him with all my heart (he gives the best puppy hugs) this one does not love Obedience despite food, toys, play and all the positive work I've tried to do with him.
I shouldn't be surprised as I had to correct this strong-headed dog at eight weeks old - he was trying to be the pack leader! I've had to use some compulsion with a 4-month old puppy in training and it is VERY discouraging to have to do so. But, when a dog digs in his heels and refuses to move out came the microprong, one pop and he launched to bite me.
He's young and the battle was short. I think I made a good enough impression (I hope and pray) that I don't have to do it again. He did heel after that, and heel well, but not with the heads-up attention I desire.
We broke off, did some fun stuff (side walking, backing up, fronts, finishes, fast and dynamic) and I had to try heeling again. Moto ignored the food lure and off we went, with me vigorously praising as he was keeping pace nicely. Finally he looked up at me (food was at my eyebrow) so I praised and released. Off we went again, he looked up, I made sure we had a few paces with head up praise and release.
Does he understand THIS is what I want? That it is fun? I don't know yet. But at least, we are back to square one.
Good: he has good fronts (still puppy stage). He likes the swing finish. He enjoys the recall.
Bad: He doesn't like heeling. Mediocre on around finish. Terrible retriever.
Average: stand for exam, stays, utility signals at 3 feet
Let's see if we make any progress. I need to be patient. I need to be fair.

Brave New World

Well, it's time for me to stretch my wings and grow a bit. I have some wonderful dogs and big goals to achieve. I figured if I start a training diary in blog form, it would hold my feet to the fire to remain consistent. I could also look back on my entries to remember the good days when I have a really bad one and trust me, I have LOTS of bad training days!
Here's my story in a nutshell:
I got my first obedience Sheltie, Dusty almost 14 years ago. We did reasonably well but once in the "B" classes of Obedience I realized that I wanted to do better than just qualify. Old habits were too hard to change and with a shoulder injury Dusty retired after his UDX.
So now my attention turned to Shiloh. He was already 2 when we started with some bad habits of his own. With LOTS of hard work we overcame many obstacles and got his OTCH. Obedience is not Shiloh's first love and after giving me my dream I am giving him his due and we are in agility now, trying to pursue the MACH. That journey will be followed in this blog as well.
Next came Blitz. He was everything I ever wanted in a Sheltie with a work ethic and temperament to die for. Sadly he developed a severe case of DM (dermatomyocitis) and is not expected to live very long. He had to retire before he even began his career. I struggle letting go of such a wonderful dog, and watching the progress of this disease is very trying.
So...next comes little Moto. Shiloh was bred to a lovely bitch in Kansas and that produced two beautiful puppies. Moto was my pick puppy. I have big aspirations for this dog, but Moto insists on being Moto, which is thrilling and difficult at the same time.
Moto is the inspiration for this blog as I need to keep track of our training....the good, the bad and the ugly. And so, I step into the Brave New World of blogging.
Let the journey begin!