baby you can drive my car

I need to post pictures of our new training area! I have been talking to my local vet about renting land out at his place for training. His father has a farm out off of 99 which is about 5 minutes from my house. We finally found a good comprimise for what I needed and what he had available. Alot of the land is rented out for hay or crops or cattle but some of it was in need of cleaning up and is now our practice field! We moved equipment out on sunday and have been practicing there every night since then. It usually takes me an hour or two to cycle through all three boys on what I want accomplished that night. I work through alot of drills that Lori provides all star students, but I also try and get a full course set up too.

So, I have talked about in past posts that Deuce just looses drive at Lori's place. I always chalked it up to the heat or the presence of lots of good smelling girlies or the fact that they do open practice when we are doing class but those really are all poor excuses on my part. Yes, he does wither in the heat but he has to get use to this. Well, I am starting to see lack of drive out at the farm as I call it. It is very incosistent so I can't really put my finger on any one thing. I am trying to keep sessions super short as I cycle back and forth through all dogs. I do tons of rewarding (mainly food, can sometimes get tuggies), but I am seeing lack of drive cropping up for sure. I am not sure if we are hitting another phase or it is something I am doing wrong as a trainer. I always have yummy treats as rewards and am very liberal with my praise and excitement. I have never had a dog that really could care less sometimes about working. I have to admit, working all three does help as the other two get jealous while I am out there working. Deuce will try and come out when I am working miller for sure so I have been rewarding his desire to come play with me. I never punish him for anything he does wrong other than a verbal "uh-oh" or "wrong". I am really scratching my head at this. I want him to be happy with what we do and I do see that he likes it, but I am not sure he lives for it like my other dogs do. I know it takes boys a long time to mature and I am sure neutering him will help, but I am open to suggestions at this point!

Weave woes or not?

I have really been thinking alot about Deuce's weaves. I have just really started working them in earnest but I am thinking about them and how I teach them. I have tried to do a better job of teaching deuce that the weaves are an obstacle that needs to be completed no matter where I am at or what I am doing. What i found so far is that I have someone taught him that as long as I am behind him and out of his way, he is okay and weaves good with good drive but if I am anywhere near him or ahead of him, he pops out. Need to rethink this and include him doing them well with me near him, crowding him, in front of him and other scenarios I apparently did not think about. I was so wanting to be out of the picture that I have created a problem in its self. I also have not used wires or gates and so when I do try and incorporate them, they confuse him. I want to stay away from visual helpers but I think I have shot myself in the foot by not including them when I don't need them.

I also do not feel like he really understands entries. I know part of his problem is collection, he is still a baby and is learning to collect in them but does he really know entries? I do like the 2 x 2 method for this but started channels so I have to work through this issue with the channels. How do I make entries more black and white? I have narrowed down this for deuce on his contacts. He has to complete toes with two feet on and two feet off and I can get this behavior on anything at any time. How can I do this for weaves too? Should I teach an entry "behavior"? Would going back and doing just one 2 x 2 set to teach entries with the clicker teach him entry "behavior"? I can't really use the clicker with a full set of weaves because if you click for the entry, you will get a head check and probably a pop out. I don't want to teach him that popping out is a good idea. Lots of things to think about.

deuce and fergie update

Wanted to update on how my deuce boy has been doing. We have seriously begun our weave pole training now but have decided to use the channel method instead of the 2 x 2 method. If you know of anyone who would be interested in buying my DVD on 2 x 2s, let me know since i haven't even used it. I do feel like it is an awesome method, I just feel like it is easier to do what my trainer trains so she can help me troubleshoot any issues I am having. We have been slowly moving the channel in and out and I am very happy with his progress so far. He has nice drive and collection in and is hitting his entries well. He is far from perfect and still has days where he doesn't want to weave and I have to channel them way out and then work my way back in. It has been super hot here so I have been having to wait till 9 or so to get out and train. We haven't had class lately due to my crazy schedule and Lori being gone so I have just been working him on skills drills after the beginner class I teach. I have seen alot of improvement and have worked him up to jumping 20 inches. He still sometimes forgets to jump properly and so I have been giving him a verbal "Uh-oh" and stopping him, not so much as a punishment but more just to remind him to be careful.

I will have to admit, I have been playing around with 2 on 2 off for his a-frame and will need to make a clear decision here soon as to what I am going to do for sure. I have really had trouble fading out the hoop and I felt like the running was not a clear enough criteria for him. I think because we did running for so long that he had great drive into position and as long as I can maintain this drive, I am pleased. I will just have to monitor his shoulders and keep him very lean to keep stress off of his front end. (can you tell I am leaning towards a 2 on 2 off:)


Fergie is well, fergie. She does agility when she feels like it and I haven't been pushing her. We just got her down to 7.7 lbs so i feel comfortable having her do more like jumping and more a-frame work. I have her currently jumping at 4 inches but she may eventually have to jump 8. Again, I am in no hurry to get her into the ring. This is more of a learning experience for me to train little dogs. When she is into work, she had great intensity and can be super fast. She doesn't seem to like the heat either so I haven't been pushing her. She finally just this week got back on the teeter after deuce launched her off of it. I am thinking the teeter may always be her nemesis so NADAC may be a better option for her than AKC or USDAA. Oh well, it is too early to tell so I am just letting her go at her pace and give me what she wants. She is just now doing her sits and downs on command as we having been clicker training these behaviors. Most of my dogs get this in a couple of days so this has been interesting to see how long it takes her to get all of this. I really look forward to someday showing Fergie and Deuce!

Deuce and his own random rate of reinforcement

I guess we are in the throes of doggy adolescences for sure now. Deuce is starting to try out his wings in garbage diving and dog food gorging. Twice now, we have left thinking everything was put up and that we would only be gone for a little while so he should be okay to be left out. Right before I left for the IN, went to the store or something and came back and he and who knows who else had eaten who knows how much dog food. It happened again last night, went to the movies and came home and the dog food air tight container was opened and empty. Poor Deuce had three accidents last night and when he went out had pure diarrhea twice. I guess from now on we will have to lock up the dog food container and the garbage. Lesson learned, wish he wouldn't do that anymore but not fair to tempt fate. I am sure when I get home today, there will be accidents galore. I left him out of his crate so he would at least be able to do that on the hardwood and hopefully not walk in it. I also think I am going to have to take him to dog shows no matter what. I have gone to a couple and left him with Tony and I don't think Tony pays good enough attention to him and thus the mischief. I do also think we are going to have to go back to crating him, no matter how short the period of time we are gone. I told Tony, since we have nothing in the dining room and it will probably be a long time before we will due to all of the house problems we are having, that we should just move all crates downstairs and crate everyone. I think it is only fair as we really don't know who is doing exactly what.

Training wise, Deuce and I are still taking Lori's puppy class when I can make it and when it isn't too terribly hot. Lori has given us the drills on paper so I can work them at home, which helps. He sometimes has tons of drive and sometimes not. He is starting to do really well with his a-frame, especially in sequences and we have moved the hoop out away from the a-frame and the target passed other obstacles now. I will have to be honest, due to this weird summer, either really hot or raining, no in between, we haven't done a ton of training. I am very busy with work and very stressed with both work and the house problems so I de-stress alot by just watching tv or going to the gym. I figure I am in no rush to get him in the ring so why hurry:)

Happy Birthday Deuce, here's your present, it's an infection!

Poor Deuce! Deuce celebrated his 1st birthday on Sunday with a raging stomach ache and an infection of his "man bits". I feel so horrible as I think it was my fault that all of this happened, well not the stomach part but at least the infection. Deuce has always had a very sensitive stomach, to the point that I won't feed him anything other than his food and I even use it for treats or very bland charley bears. He has had horrible gas in the past, which has cleared up somewhat as he has aged thank goodness, but the sensitive stomach has stayed. For whatever reason, Saturday night, his stomach revolted against him and he basically had an intestinal explosion in our dining room which thankfully is plywood floors and no furniture, so easy to clean. He had a total of five accidents all of cow pie consistency and very smelly. I immediatley started to bulk him up with some cooked rice throughout Sunday and he seemed better so we left to go run some errands in town. Well, when we got back, it looked like another poop bomb had gone off in our house. The smell was unbearable and Tony immediately headed back outside till i had everything cleaned up. This time there was poop from one end of the house to the other and they had walked in one of the piles so it was smeared everywhere and there were little poop footprints going everywhere. Now I was starting to get worried. I couldn't believe how much poop was coming out of this dog! More rice down and Tony and I decided to not do yard work but instead stay inside with Deuce and of course watch True Blood Season Two.

Around 7 pm, I noticed that Deuce was getting more and more uncomfortable. He just seemed to not be able to settle, would go from place to place and seemed to be biting or licking his flank area. He got worse and worse so we held him down and inspected him and his man bits were very red and swollen and smelled infected. I couldn't believe it because we had not seen him licking. What I thought about though was after every explosion, I had taken him out and washed his touche with the water hose. I never did dry him off and he is a very hairy boy so apparently the little licking he did get in and the water staying in that area had all worked against him. He now has a very nasty infection and his poor man bits are very red and swollen. We stayed up together most of last night, with me watching him and him moving from place to place trying to get comfortable. I even iced his man parts to help him and he laid there and let me! Poor baby!!!!! He had a couple of times that he needed to go outside but seemed like the diarrhea was slacking up.

Took him to the vet today and he got his cone of shame put on and his poop area shaved a bit so I don't have to wash him so much. He is getting steriod cream on his man bits to try and help the swelling and the cone of shame is working as well. I am taking the whole day off to be with him as I would worry myself to death if I had left him today plus i have had maybe a couple of hours of sleep if you patch all the little naps together so I am not in the mood to be around people in a social setting. I really do think the diarrhea is done but not sure how long it is going to take his man bits to clear up. I feel so responsible since i was just hosing him down and not thinking about causing an infection. I guess I will have to start drying it with a hair dryer to make sure it is dry from now on. I just wish his tummy would settle down but it took Harley's stomach 7 years to settle so this may last for a while!

Fergielicious

I am so proud of little Fergie! Last night out at Lori's house, I got her out after we had worked all the other boys and let her play. We did the full size a-frame, the full size dog walk and tunnel! I was so proud of her for being so brave with all of the big equipment. I even let her off leash to do the obstacles and she only ran off once. Harley ran after her and pounced on her so we caught her. Thank goodness I have herding dogs! Anyway, she was so awesome and I was so proud of her courage. Now, we have alot of work to do on the teeter. We are playing the bang game but the teeter is so much heavier than she is. Right now I am just clicking and treating for her putting feet on the teeter and last night she actually ate cookies on the teeter after she pushed it down. Of course the teeter is being held on the ground practically so her pushing it is nominal but I am working baby steps with her. She still doesn't like the noise of it so I am having the other dogs bang it down while I feed her yummy treats. We are making improvements but I would love suggestions on how to teach the teeter to an 8 lb dog!

Deuce and Fergie again

Wow, having a little dog is such a different ball game! I am so use to my "big" dogs and at that herding dogs that are so biddalbe and want to work for you! I am still trying to find that button or trigger that gets Fergie to want to work with me, but we are doing better. She will work for food and will work for a tug toy but still doesn't have the drive I want to see. One thing that excites me is that we always train in one room and she will sit outside of that door and wait for me to open it so we can work. The other night she kept going up stairs and then peaking down the slats in the staircase like "You are coming, right?". I am really learning how to adapt my teachings to such a little dog. For instance, I had to use a tug toy to teach her turn and I usually use a food lure. She just didn't appreciate me leaning over her and would scoot out away from me from the pressure. So far Fergie knows "balance" which means jump on the balance disc, "sit", "down", "here"(touch my hand), "walk it" (climb a low a-frame) and "bang it"(bang the a-frame down). She is a work in progress but I am learning so much about how dogs learn and how to teach little bitty doggies. I love watching her brain process what i am asking or waiting for and for her to get the shaping game is so much fun! Now, if I could just get her recall more solid!!!!