Pirouette's UKI Run - "Nursery Agility"

Pirouette's Day at the UKI Agility Trial

Yesterday we attended a local UKI  Agility Trial-my first time showing in UKI. It was a beautiful venue, at a horse farm on the outskirts of Sebastopol. My goal was to run her on different equipment, a different facility, and different footing, to help build her confidence. She comes across as being very confident and assertive...but she is also very sensitive.

I realized after setting everything up, and bringing her in, that this was the first time Pirouette had gone to a trial without either of her fur-sibs, Daisy Mae and Gunny. She was definitely worried for awhile, but finally settled in. It helped that two of my friends were next to us, and took time to pet her!

Her first class was Speedstakes, which is only jumps and tunnels. She took off over the first jump with with great enthusiasm...then had to sniff the river sand we were running on. Parts of her course were beautiful...and parts she missed. But the f\last 6 obstacles were spot on...and she was happy!

The second run was Nursery Agility, which is like standard without weaves or teeter. She was unsure of the A-frame and it took us several tries, but the rest of the course was great! she missed a couple of jumps near the end, but we just kept running!

If you want to learn more about UKI Agility, here is a link to the website:

Working On Connection - Relationship Building

Having a 1 1/2 hour commute (each way) gives me a lot of time to think...and a lot of that thinking is about dog training...my 3 dogs-Daisy Mae, Pirouette and Gunther- as well as student dogs. I think about the things I have worked on and what is and is not working.

Last night I trained my "baby dogs", Pirouette and Gunny. Tonight we went out again to train agility. Last night I did my usual warm-up with Gunny, the did jump-dogwalk-tunnel. He had no contact on the dog walk, and took off for the tunnel...only to go around behind it. I yelled "Gunny, COME", got him back and started again. That was not a good start. I was not happy with myself, and tried to figure out why I had no attention. I came to the realization that although we had warmed up, he was not engaged with me. How could I change that?

The first thing I did was load up on food and his favorite toy...the WUBBA! The second thing was to ditch the prong collar and put his leash on the buckle collar. Once we got onto the training field, I took the leash off completely. One big problem with Gunny is he wants to sniff...and then pee. Every time he sniffed, I yelled let's go and took off away from him at a run. I gave him a treat for coming back to me. After a couple of times he came immediately...and we played with Wubba. We did jumps in a half circle, then threw the toy...then went the other way. At first gunny only wanted to look at the toy...not the jumps. He had to start from a sit, with the toy away from him, and understand that the toy would "appear" after he did his job. We worked 3 sessions and he was awesome!

Sharing the hour with him was my Corgi baby Pirouette. She is very sensitive. If she thinks she made a mistake she tends to wander away and sniff. We did a lot of tugging with her tennis ball and throwing it for play. she worked stress-free and was fast and happy. Tomorrow she is doing 2 classes at a UKI Trial. I am hoping this session helped her stay engaged!

Last weekend we participated in a local agility trial, where I showed Daisy Mae. She is working on points and double Q's for her PACH 2. Gunny and Pirouette always go with me, as trials are excellent places for training of many kinds. Right now I am working on getting Gunny more comfortable being around a lot of dogs that he doesn't know. He does not have to make friends, just not be reactive under normal circumstances.

When I first got Gunny and he started going to trials, he was very worried about all of the dogs. I suspect that he never went out of his back yard in his previous home, so he was never exposed to dogs. We started with lots of yummy treats, and getting him to focus on me. At first we had to stay way back from other dogs...it was easy to see where his comfort level stopped and started. We worked on "look at that", then turn and refocus on me. We worked on back up and come. He has come so far in a short time.

But last weekend we had a set-back and I realized how hard this whole thing is to explain to my boy. We were about 10 feet away from a crate, when the dog inside went off on him, growling, barking
and going at the front of the crate. It didn't help that it was a soft crate...so Gunny wasn't the only one who was worried. It didn't help that the owner said, "She is just worried." I said, "But we are 10 feet away." She said, "yes, but she is worried." That is not what I would call it! She finally threw a cover over the front of the crate and we were able to go by, maintaining our distance. From that time on, Gunny was on alert, and I couldn't blame him!

I am asking Gunny to trust me to keep him safe, in a place where it feels dangerous. How can I tell him how to sort out all the barks...he assumes they are all aimed at him. How do I tell him the dog can't get out of the crate when I am not sure? How do I explain that the dog we are passing is barking because the owner is in the ring, running their other dog? Or that the other dog is barking at another dog and it is unrelated to him? Why do some dogs seem oblivious to all the sounds, or most of them?
I think it will take me a long time to help him sort it out. I really understand his feelings!

However, he did pass his barnhunt instinct test. This did require me to take his leash and collar off to work him in a semi-fenced area, with 3 other people in the ring. It meant he had to take some direction from me, without any treats involved. I was thrilled that he did his work and came back to me for leash and collar. So,he really is making amazing progress!

Beginning My Journey With Gunther (aka Gunny)

Gunny is my new boy and has been with me 6 months as of Jan 20, 2016. He came from  shelter in Marysville  CA. He is approximately 2 years old, and was found running loose in a field. Sadly, he was at the shelter for 2 weeks and no one came to find him. But that was lucky for me, as I was able to adopt him. After spending a day at the shelter's vet being neutered, ears cleaned and a major check-up, he came home with me.

He was very groggy on the drive home, so that went without any problems. He did not seem to mind the car ride or being in a crate. When we arrived home, I left him in the car for a short time so I could go in and say Hi to his two new sisters, Daisy Mae, a 7 year old female rescue German Shepherd, and Pirouette, a six month old female Pembroke Welsh Corgi. I said Hi and put them in safe places while I brought the new boy in, through the house and out to the back yard. Since I already knew that Gunny was a "runner" and had already cleared a six foot fence before he was in the shelter, I was fearful of letting him off-leash. So, I put him in the run I had prepared (6' X 12 "), so he could walk around and relieve himself. I went into the house for a moment, and came back out to Gunny loose in the garage. It took him less than 5 minutes to break out, and this was the most secure of my runs. He pushed right through the bottom of the gate! Luckily I had no problem catching him...he was just interested in checking out his new environment.

Since I did not know how he would be with the other 2 dogs, I took him in and put him in the crate in my office. He proceeded to destroy that crate, an older very strong wire crate. He also managed to pull in the plastic  I had put under the crate and rip it up into little pieces. Within 48 hours I started to get a very clear picture of why this dog was in the shelter...and the previous owners had not come for him. This dog was strong and seemed determined not to be contained. Had i bitten off more than I could handle?

The Obedience Match

Yesterday I went to an obedience match...my first one in several years. With Saber retired and out of commission, Star too old and retired, and Daisy Mae focused on agility, and not seeming to be motivated to do obedience, there was no reason to do so. But, I decided that I hadn't done much training with Daisy Mae, and I should give it another shot.

Since this match is held by this club each year on the 4th of July, many people come very year. It was wonderful to see so many people that I haven't seen in years! I think for many of us, the social aspect is as important as the dog training aspect. This was also my Corgi puppy Pirouette's first agility match! This match was well-run, and over before noon...very important in Sacramento...which is hot at this time of the year.

One thing I had forgotten is that, for many dogs, obedience is a "punitive" sport. Any mistake is corrected with pops and jerks, with seemingly no effort to understand why a dog did what they did...or didn't do. Obviously the dog didn't care or didn't chose to do what the handler wanted and deserved to be punished. The scary thing is that I came from that background! It certainly is not where I am as a dog trainer today. And it made me very uncomfortable to be around people who were doing that. But the upside is it made me really think about how I am training. I do know that, if that is what I have to do to get my dog to perform, it just isn't worth it!

Pirouette

In October of 2014, I lost my beautiful Corgi, Star, at the age of 15 1/2 years. Losing a dog you have had for that long is very painful. We had a great life together, and I had no regrets...I just missed her!
When I got Star, at the age of 3 months, I did not set out to find a Corgi. She was bred by one of my students, who wanted to place her once she found out that Star was going to be a "fluffy" (long hair) and could not be shown in conformation. I loved Star's "mom" Lacey, and decided that as a trainer I needed to train a small dog...so Star came home with me. Once I learned about this breed's intelligence, willingness as a worker, and ability to train and compete in a variety of venues, I was sold! Star's passing left me with a Corgi-sized hole in my heart.

 In January I started my search, not knowing how long it would take, and not being in a hurry to bring home just any Corgi. I was looking for a smaller Corgi (hopefully to jump 8" in agility). I wanted a dog with lots of energy, but a sweetness that would allow her to be sweet and lovable, as well as a good worker. As it turns out I found the total package in a December litter, bred by a long time competitor-friend Christine Johnson, Goldenroad Corgis. I chose Pirouette as she was the most outgoing, the most energetic, the most energetic and the most inquisitive. That selection was made when the litter was 5 weeks old, and reconfirmed when they were 8 weeks old. She came home with me at the age of 10 weeks. After her third night in my home, she was sleeping through the night. 

She has learned most of what I teach in puppy class in the first 3-4 weeks, and is now training in Agility, Rally and Obedience. Her training is more like play...I don't think she knows its training...she just thinks we play lots of games with cookies! Almost more important than the training for various competitions is the training between her and Daisy Mae, my 6 1/2 year old German Shepherd, and current competition dog. Daisy Mae has never really had a dog to play with, except playing chase with Saber when they were young. I am so happy with the results of this ongoing training!