Thanksgiving and Snow Games

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm particularly joyful this year as I get to celebrate with my cousins who recently moved into Missouri. We both feel like it will be a bit of "like the good old days" getting together. Plus - with the car accident and my recovery - I have a renewed appreciation for life.
Haven't trained much as I have plenty of excuses - the weather's been nasty and then I got a cold - so Moto is enjoying a nice winter break. It snowed last week and Blitz and Moto particularly enjoyed the snow and I was able to catch about 30 seconds of it in this movie - enjoy!
This is the biggest turkey I've ever prepared so I'm a bit nervous. Erik has been a wonderful husband, handling the cleaning portion allowing me to focus on the meal which has been a great time-saver and stress-reliever. After today I board a plane to California to spend time with my daughter, four (soon to be five) grandkids, mother, sister and respective spouses. Look out Moto when I return! I'm very hungry to return to the show ring so we'll hit the training when I return. Meantime, hug your dogs, your friends and your families. Today is a very special day, and THANK YOU for reading this blog - I'm grateful for all of you!

Blitz Update & maybe I created a monster!

First the Blitz update - he had his regular 6 mo checkup with the doggie dermatologist who is the tri-state expert on DM. Overall his condition is good, but my fear that he is losing muscle strength in his jaws was sadly confirmed. He also has a deep, nasty, non-healing wound on the joint of his left rear leg. His little body does not have the strength to fight infections so he's on yet another round of antibiotics and it has to be bandaged and redressed 2X/day. It causes him no pain for which I am grateful. I asked our vet what is the "typical undoing" of a dog with DM and he said it really varies a lot. Some lose control of their legs while others eventually cannot eat, and he said Blitz will probably fall into this category. However, if Blitz is feeling great overall and can intake food of whatever kind (we may be reduced to a healthy gruel) I do believe I will keep him going as long as he wants. As is his usual he is the Happiest Dog Alive and the vet commented that he's matured into a lovely dog with a great temperament.
As for maybe I created a monster: my dear little Moto is at the bottom of the pack and frequently gets picked on by other dogs outside of our home. After talking with my friend Laurie who offered some good pointers I began implementing a plan. One was to occasionally feed Dusty and then Moto while the others had to watch, then feed them. Other than the remaining three being confused about the change in routine this went over just fine. Second, when Moto had a bone I helped him defend it by shooing the other dogs away. Before they'd just charge him and take away his bone and he'd just let them do it. I praised Moto when he finally began to growl off stalking to-be-bone-takers. All was going fine until....
...this morning. Oh dear. This morning was the weekly Raw Egg breakfast. Moto in particular loves raw eggs, the shells are his absolute favorite. Dusty doesn't care for shells any longer so I give him Dusty's eggshells too. As usual Moto ate his special meal with great gusto but then the huge change: he began stalking the other dogs, trying to take over their food! When he approached Blitz (who takes longer to eat now) Blitz snarled over his bowl. To my absolute horror Moto's lips curled and I've never seen so many teeth or such a savage face. Honestly, for a quick second I was scared of him. Fortunately I was close and got him away from Blitz so he could finish his meal in peace.
I guess in the future once Moto finishes his food I'll put him outside to head off future conflicts. Never in all my dog-owning years have I EVER had a dog fight over food, this was the closest I've ever come.
With that said, it should be safe to say that Moto is gaining self-confidence, which in the big picture of his life is a good thing.

Today is not a good day

It's not a bad day either, it's just not a good day. I'm referring to Dusty, my companion for 14+ years now. I knew he wasn't feeling good by the way he was cuddled up next to me this morning, it was as if he was pressing his body into mine and wanting to be held. This is what he does when he is not well.
He ate fine, pooped fine, but his general demeanor is not the same. In spite of his advanced age he is always playful and happy. Today he is content to snooze on his pillow. It's cold and it could just be that he is old and it's cold. Either way, I told Erik to keep an eye on him while I am at work. It concerns me.
Meantime Blitz comes to work with me today. He's getting his nails clipped by a professional groomer today. She is awesome and groomed my dogs for me when I was too injured from the car accident. She has that magic way with animals, gaining their trust and doing a great job without inflicting any pain. I'm hoping she can do the same with Blitz. When I trim his nails it's at least a 40 minute ordeal with lots of screaming. His nails grow out wooden-like and deformed which make it challenging. I wish her luck. Then, it's off to the vet dermatologist this afternoon to look at a wound that hasn't healed for over a week. It's not infected (I treat it with neosporin daily) but it won't scab or close. So, time to take a look at what is going on.
Moto continues to gain confidence in his obedience work. Erik came to class with me last night and said he was very surprised at how nicely he works. I am toying with entering him in Rally Novice at the Des Moines Sheltie Specialty in February.
We'll see how everything plays out.
Off to begin my day....

Tweak Weather

It's in the 30's with a rain/sleet/snow mix. Not good outdoor weather training. So these are the days I call "tweak weather training" as I can only train indoors in a small area. Boy am I glad for these tweak days as I found I get quite greedy pushing for the big picture and the really important bits that go into a successful obedience showing slide or get sloppy.
Today we worked on fronts, setting up, and the turn/sit for go outs. I was saddened to discover that Moto still does not understand front. To help him I made one of those PVC U-shaped things but he is such a big boy and clumsy he slid all over it, knocked it sideways and even busted it several times *sigh*. So then I tried my heavy plastic guides I use for the broad jump, placing them in a chute formation on either side of my feet. Again, my big gangly puppy knocked them sideways in an attempt to get to me, straight or not. This is going to take some work and creativity on my part and I anticipate lots of tweak days will be spent on front work. Hoo boy.
He really enjoys the "get close" command but needs a little work on understanding correct heel position. But he picks this up fast and enjoys it - same as the turn and sit.
Now, I just wish it would be all snow. This yucky slushy stuff makes me crazy!

Whose Poop Is it?

It's a game I play daily. Yes, it's kind of sick, but when you have five dogs you spend a LOT of time picking up poop. In fact I'm so good at it, I can tell just by looking at the terd whose poop it is. Erik is very bad at this game. Men just don't pay attention. Here's some Helpful Hints to the "Whose Poop Is It" game:
PERIMETER POOP: This is from Blitz. I don't know why he does this, but he backs into the fence to poop. I think he's just a very tidy boy and this way he won't step on it. Or maybe he's marking his territory.
POOP ON A HILL: This is Shiloh. Part of the fenced yard has a dramatic upward slope. Shiloh likes to poop on the crest and it tumbles downward onto the slope. Again, I think it's because he's a very tidy dog.
HEALTHY COLON POOP: These are voluminous poops that can only belong to Moto. He eats the same food as everyone else, this the sheer size of each terd continues to amaze me.
FOLLOW THE TRAIL POOP: belongs to Dusty. Ever since he was a puppy he walked and pooped. I think poop distresses him and it's his way of getting away from it as quickly as possible.
BORDER COLLIE POOP: anywhere. This dog will poop on stepping stones, stair edges, wherever and whenever she feels like it.
ACCIDENTAL POOP: inside the house - if it's in the dining room, it's Shiloh. If it's at the foot of the stairs, it's Daisy. Dusty, Blitz and Moto so far haven't pooped in the house.
So next time you stop by, come into the back yard with me and we'll play the game. Maybe this time YOU will win!

Gettin' Addicted Again

The weather has been beautiful, freaky really, but I'm loving the 70 degree weather in November. Took a glorious ride up to Omaha, NE with Dee to get a private obedience lesson with Kathy. We packed up Moto and Caleb and headed off. We got hungry on the way and began searching for a place to eat. Surely in Hamburg, IA there was SOMETHING. Mind you in I-29 there isn't a whole lot to look at. We saw a sign that said FOOD - Stoner Drug and it cracked us up so we went to downtown Hamburg to find it. It was exactly the way I pictured it - an old-time store front and inside were a bunch of friendly elderly ladies managing a soda fountain. Turns out this place has been around since the 1800's. We ordered a hamburger and chocolate malt and I tell you it was the best hamburger I'd eaten in a long time...yum. We bought ourselves a commemorative Stoner Drug T-shirt and continued our journey to Omaha. It was a complete Obedience Heaven day. I enjoyed watching Dee and Kathy work with Caleb and their training questions and issues. Gary and Kathy rotated back and forth between Dee and myself. I'm awfully glad I went since besides the problems I brought to the table, they found some others that I wouldn't have noticed until it was a serious problem. Biggest was the setting up between exercises. He'd been pretty sharp at it for awhile and I started letting him slide and he was getting sloppy and I was letting him. He can now take gentle corrections and get right back to work without pouting or worrying which is great. Moto is getting to the point where he needs to assume responsibility for HIS end of the leash! Kathy said what I've thought all along - he's not a flashy boy, but he is very, very accurate. This doesn't mean I have a robotic dog tho - I work hard at making sure he's having a blast and I want him to ENJOY our time in the ring. He's just not like Blitz who high-steps when he heels or leaps into heel position. But his tail is held high, good attention (we still need to work at it) and Kathy says we look like a team AND...my posture is good! YAY! That is huge.
What thrills me is the technical perfection of this dog: his dumbbell pick up is to die for. His drive over the broad jump is to die for. His utility signals are to die for. I need to really, really work hard on the heeling. And of course fronts and finishes. If we can get the accuracy there - and we're not terribly far off - we could be on to something.
My mantra: don't be greedy. Be patient. All good things will come in time. Moto needs to mature. When he is ready - and it will take longer than I'd like - I believe it will be worth the wait. I'll try to get hubby to video his open work and post it here.
Off to bed with a mind full of training ideas. The fire is returning to my belly and I think Moto's little ember is turning into a spark!

Stunned

Yup, I am stunned. At Moto. I don't know what "happened" but the past two training days have been nothing short of amazing. Last night at our obedience workshop (it's a 1 hour rental of a building where people with dogs at the open level work, the instructor will walk around and give training suggestions, plus 5 minutes of group heeling and sits and downs) I was simply blown away by his heeling, retrieve over high and retrieve on flat. Even the instructor commented that she's never seen such drive coming from him, and the pick up and returns were simply gorgeous.
I wanted to see if it was a fluke so we worked some utility this morning. All I can say is, those utility signals were the most beautiful I've ever seen from any of my dogs. Nice, crisp signals and an attitude to die for.
Now mind you these weren't 200 performances - there were still a few wides, or a little butt in but it was the ATTITUDE and DRIVE that I am looking for. The rest will come with work.
I believe Moto is blossoming in this new training environment. This is a dog that wants to be right, and when he IS right, he wants to be rewarded. Another thrill is he doesn't seem to care whether he is rewarded with praise - that alone is his "treat".
If this continues, we may enter him in Rally Novice next year. If I can continuously expose him to a show environment to build his confidence (and he can learn Mom being nervous is OK he is still a good boy not to worry) I hope this fantastic attitude will come into the obedience ring. If so, I have one heck of a dog I can be very proud of.