Dog Tricks Academy Lounge - Blogs http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php Dog Tricks discussions and training community. Free dog tricks en Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:47:54 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/images/styles/orangeblue/misc/rss.jpg Dog Tricks Academy Lounge - Blogs http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php Whoa horsey! http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=219 Sun, 17 Aug 2008 03:52:53 GMT Another romp at the dog park today...

I can't believe how like a pack the dogs AND owners are at the park. I noticed everyone talks to the same people, stands around the same place...it's kind of nice to just chat and watch the dogs play like crazy.

Funny thing today was the arrival of two Great Danes about the size of a mule. One was about 130 pounds and almost a year old. YOUCH! He had the rambunctiousness of a puppy and the body of a horse! Oh...and the slobber that worked like a sling shot.

Bella wanted so badly to play with him, and every time he'd start off running at full speed, there went Bella trying so hard to keep up with her little legs.

It was the first time Bella OR I have ever encountered such a big dog in person. I didn't know quite what to do each time he came running toward me, galloping those huge legs. I knew if I moved, he'd clip me and I'd go flying sideways. On the other hand, if I stood my ground and bent my knees, I'd be on my back flat before I could even blink.

Fortunately, he managed to graze by my legs each time....to send little Bella flying onto her back. The hard headed little girl just picked herself up with tail wagging and began the chase all over again. :doglaugh: That's my funny girl.

At one point a slightly over aggressive dog wrestled with Bella but when he got a little too rough, a border collie would run in and yell at him, pulling him off Bella. I never saw a stranger dog so protective of a youngster...needless to say I was extremely impressed...and grateful.

Another great day at the park. Tomorrow we go to watch flyball! ]]> bellapup http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=219 Help! http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=218 Sat, 16 Aug 2008 12:24:00 GMT Hello everyone. I was wondering if anyone has any idea why my 7 month old lab starts to jump and bite at his leash during a very nice walk. I am... Hello everyone. I was wondering if anyone has any idea why my 7 month old lab starts to jump and bite at his leash during a very nice walk. I am training him to walk by my side and after 20 minutes or so he starts to jump and start biting at his leash. It takes me forever to get him back up the driveway and into the house. This drives me crazy and makes me not want to go for these walks with him. Does anyone have any advice for me. Please help... Thank you ]]> shadow1515 http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=218 Beginning Agility - Week 4 http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=217 Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:27:54 GMT Well another week has passed and summer it seems is slipping away. The Warm Up.... The class started out with the exercise of Ready.. Steady..... Well another week has passed and summer it seems is slipping away.

The Warm Up....

The class started out with the exercise of Ready.. Steady.. Go..
This is getting the dog into a controlled excitement stage and ready to get going. The handler get the dog excited by using a toy (in this case a tug rope) then sitting the dog by their side throwing the toy a few feet in front of the dog the giving the command Ready Steady and Go so the dog runs to the toy and retrieves it. Well as you would know it Grady was all into sniffing the ground. Taking in the smell of the other dogs that have been there and not real responsive, but hey not all week are going to go perfect and some not even close. Another warmup was the acelleration and de-acelleration with the dog beside the handler. Again Grady attention was on other things we have to find a way to get him to focus on what is at hand.

Individual All Around (since it Olympic time)

Weave Poles -
After getting warmed up came induvidual apparatus work. First came the Weave Poles. To get the dogs started learning the weave poles are set in line 21 inches apart and 6 inches off center. After they get the idea of what to do the poles are move closer to center. Grady was able to sit at the entrance to the poles and actually complete all 12 without loosing focus.
Ramp -
To get the dog and handler working together on this the dog is lead up a 12 inch wide ramp that is 3 feet high and ending on a table top. This seemed easy for Grady.
Sofar So Good

Teeter Totter -
This is where the fun began... The teeter totter was raised to about 1.5 feet off the ground this time. The dog were lead onto the teeter totter then across when the TT began moving down most dogs jumped off including Grady. The idea was to get the dogs successfully across and stand on the opposite side within 3 feet of the end. Well this took a few tries to get him use to the movement of the apparatus and eventually he did well.
Tunnel -
The tunnel was stretched to about 15 feet and curved so the dog could not see the handler at the other end. Most all dogs seemed comfortable with this apparatus. Grady was great going into the tunnel, but comming out had his own agenda.
End of Week 4

At the end of class home work was assigned and weave poles were given out. Assignment was work on Ready Steady Go and weave poles.

This week I took some pictures during class and will post some in days to come. Grady was preoccupied this week with smelling the ground and wasn't that focused on tasks at hand, but all in all he did a good job and seemed like he was having fun. My wife was a little frustrated with him and I think he knew it.

We will have to work with him more during the week to make sure we are holding up our end of the training. I have to get my lazy butt out and set up the weave poles. I will report on some of the training we are doing between classes and post pictures.

Until next post.. Later
Paul, Grady and the usual suspects ]]> jeepdog http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=217 Jumping for joy http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=216 Fri, 15 Aug 2008 01:47:37 GMT Bella's still having a bit of a problem with jumping. I've been trying lots of things and she has certainly gotten better, but sometimes when she gets too excited with a visitor, she resorts to jumping. She's 4 months and a week now, so I'm not sure if her jumping is still part of the puppiness in her, or if she should already be over it and I have to be more adamant with training her not to jump.

In the meantime, I thought maybe if I trained her to jump, I could get her not to jump. So I bought a hula hoop from the infamous garage sale. Off and on, I'd train Bella with a treat on the other side so that she would first walk through, then jump.

I'm happy to say Bella now jumps through the hoop without even a command. All I have to do is hold it up and she'll jump happily with tail wagging. She even tries to jump higher, so I've been slowly raising the hoop. Sometimes I only cheer at her or give her pettings and hugs, so she doesn't become treat dependant. She seems to love doing the jumping.

The good thing is that it's not making her jump more. But of course it hasn't made it go away completely. I know I'll just have to try harder to do the ah-ah thing at her jumping. When I first come home from work I'll go to my knee and give her lots of kisses and hugs to get her excitement at seeing me out of the way. That helps with me, but it doesn't help guests.

Try, and try again, right?:dogtongue2: ]]> bellapup http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=216 Home Alone http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=215 Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:53:12 GMT Hi Everyone, Quick question. I have a four month old beagle who has never been left home alone for more than two hours (we are create training... Hi Everyone,

Quick question. I have a four month old beagle who has never been left home alone for more than two hours (we are create training him...and he does great). We will be taking a day trip some and I dont know what to do with him. I am terrified to board him at a local Kennel, what if he get scared or feels abondoned? But I cannot leave his in his creat for ten-twelve hours. Please HELP, What do I do?:dogunsure: ]]> janriv121 http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=215 Quitting Smoking http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=214 Sun, 10 Aug 2008 18:44:18 GMT Whew, ok so yeah... I quit smoking today! It is past noon and I havent had one. I am so tired of hacking up huge globs of shit. And not being able to... Whew, ok so yeah... I quit smoking today! It is past noon and I havent had one. I am so tired of hacking up huge globs of shit. And not being able to run. Or walk very far. Ive tried quitting before but no luck. I found a website, idaho.quitnet.com that supplies Idahoans with free nicotine replacement therapy medication! I opted for the nicoderm patch, because Ive tried the gum & it didnt work that well. It more made me want to just eat all the gum. The patch seems to be working so far, except they make them a bit too strong and the fuckin thing itches a bit. But no more excuses now, I got free patches and I am going to quit smoking. When ever I want a cig too bad, Im gonna take one of the dogs for a walk. The dogs will be just as happy as me that I quit. I cant walk very fast as a smoker and they think Im a slow poke and get bored. LOL! Wish me luck... here it goes! Im gonna have to switch these dogs over to high protein chow lmao, Ill be walking them like every ten minutes. ]]> maxkaurasky http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=214 The shooting game http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=212 Sat, 09 Aug 2008 16:37:39 GMT I've been spending a lot of my summer swimming and trying to get out of this ridiculous heat....meanwhile feeling guilty about not being able to bring Bella to poolside with me. Then lo and behold, the pool gods responded to my guilt ridden pleasure by transporting a water gun at the side of the pool. Being the only ones swimming at the pool, the gun was gifted to us and I was excited to bring it home to see what Bella would think of it.

The first time she was shot by it, she gave me a sidelong look of displeasure...until she realized it was tasty! Now when I hold it up she comes running and catches every squirt in her mouth that she can. Her head sure comes out drenched in the process, but it's funny watching her snap at all of the droplets as quickly as she can. I roll around with laughter hearing her mouth slurp open every time.

Then I realized it was great practice for her to catch things in midair. I tried with a few treats and she seemed to get the hint a little bit. Her coordination isn't that great yet, but I'll keep working on it.

Meanwhile my stomach muscles are getting a great workout from all the laughing I'm doing. :dogtongue2: ]]> bellapup http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=212 Beginning Agility - Week Three http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=211 Fri, 08 Aug 2008 20:30:30 GMT Please forgive my spelling first of all..... Week three started with a team building exercise. Trainer would have the dog sit then throw a toy about... Please forgive my spelling first of all.....

Week three started with a team building exercise. Trainer would have the dog sit then throw a toy about three feet in front and then have the dog after the toy. This was suppost to work on having fun and getting the dog attention focused more on what the trainer wanted the dog to do instead of other dogs in the class.
They also practiced acelleration and de-acceleration while next to the handler.

Next was more introduction to..

Weave Poles. Grady had a hard time figuering out what to do but after a few tries he was able to go short distance doing the weave. We'll have to work on this more.

Teeter Todder. This was mainly at ground level and would only tip about 4 inches getting the dogs use to something their walkin on moving. No problems here.

Ramp. This was basically walking up a ramp 1 foot wide and about 2 feet tall. This is just the beginning for what looked like will be a big challenge to move up to a competition size ramp. No problems here as Grady loves walking on walls around town.

Chute. This was the second time this was practiced and Grady did better this time. He actually went through with out the chute being held open.

Tunnel. Again this was the second time practiced. This time they curved the tunnel so the dog can't see exit. Talk about dogs excelerating thru the tunnel some of them look like they were shot out. Another good one for Grady.

Through out all of the practice the handler switched sides of the dog so the dog would get use to the handler on either side of the apparitus.

Grady and my wife had a great night. Both were very happy and I was proud of their work. Grady was hungry and tired by the time we got home.

Until next time...
Paul ]]> jeepdog http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=211 Pictures! http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=209 Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:22:41 GMT We went up to the Golden Age Mine the other day, where we lived last summer, to visit my fiancé's brother, Shelby. There is a big green lawn & a creek, lots of room to play, so I took some pix of the dogs. The yellow dogs are Shelby's. The puppy is one of Kaura's babies she had in February. Their mom has another one of the puppies. The other three went to other people in the valley that we know. I'm so happy I get to see all her pups grow up, without having to raise them myself. LOL! It was insane having 5 puppies running through the house! I think I'll put some pix of them up too! :) The puppy pix are from earlier this year. The house looks horrible, its a work in progress. We are going to finish the sheet-rock and paint in a few weeks! YAY!
Here's Jigs on the gold dredge.
Max & Kaura on the lawn.
Max & Kaura's pup, Skeeter.
Sky on the lawn.
Aren't you a bit young to be drinking??!
Poor Kaura!
Everybody penned in the kitchen:dogwub: ]]> maxkaurasky http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=209 hey http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=208 Thu, 07 Aug 2008 04:28:22 GMT Hey guys I wanted to tell you that I have two dogs, a dachsund koda ,and a maltipo tootsie. I love them and if you have any training tips let me... Hey guys I wanted to tell you that I have two dogs, a dachsund koda ,and a maltipo tootsie. I love them and if you have any training tips let me know!!!!!! thanks:doglaugh: ]]> baba242 http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=208 <![CDATA[Maggie & her Real Mom.....Sable]]> http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=207 Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:49:04 GMT Hi!

I recently became the owner of Maggie's real mommy...Sable. Her previous family didn't want her anymore because they lost their male Sheltie and couldn't breed her anymore. At first, I didn't want her because of the stench and her teeth were in such bad shape.....but, I felt sorry for her and decided to take her. The Vet said she would have died within 2 mos. because of infection in her mouth and she felt we saved her life.

However, now she is fine and is the sweetest little dog I have ever met. She has such a wonderful personality.

I also have had a new foal come into our lives. I bought a QH paint mare last fall and the owners didn't know she was bred when they sold her to me. What is funny about the whole thing is I bought her with the agreement I could receive a free breeding in the spring. I couldn't catch her in heat and found out 12 days before she foaled that she was pregnant. WHAT A PLEASANT SURPRISE!!!

I'm anxious to get to back to learning new training techniques for my first Sheltie, Maggie. I must say though that she just finished Intermediate Training and is doing very well. I'm proud of her!!! I hope and can continue her training in the fall and eventually start with agility. ]]> maggies mom http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=207 Beginning Agility - Jeep Dog goes Wild http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=206 Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:29:42 GMT Well I figuered I would start a blog about Grady's adventures in Agility training. I'm starting a little late, but what the heck better late than never.

As of this date Grady has been to two agility classes....

Class one - The training during this session has been around recall and introduction to the Tunnel and Table portions of agility. My wife has ageed to work with Grady in the training process. The first class consisted of introduction of the dogs to each other along with very basic agility strategy. The trainers focus was on the fact that it's a team sport and both handler and dog have to work together to make a successful team. Grady did great and seemed to really enjoy learning and running.:dogwacko:

Class two - Introduction of dogs and handler to the Ramp and Chute. Again instruction was aimed at instructing the how and what is needed to complete these two. Grady did and excellent job on the Ramp, but was not too fond of the Chute. Since it rained last night he didn't seem to like the wet chute on his back. More instruction on how the handler is to guide the dog into and thru each item. Once again Grady seemed to enjoy himself he had a big smile on his mug after class.:dogtongue2:

I watched a more advanced class that was going on at the same time and it was amazing how body language along with commands are very important in this sport. Some of the dogs were learning how to make a jump and go left or right after completing the jump based on the handlers commands.

I realize now that agility will take a lot of time and training hopefull between my wife and myself we will make the time for Grady so he not only enjoys him self but is good at this sport.

I try to update this blog after every class.

Later,
Paul
Jeep dogs partner in crime. ]]> jeepdog http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=206 Lean mean machine http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=205 Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:43:14 GMT It's been about 2 weeks of taking Bella to the big dog park, and she still has a blast. I love watching her trying to determine her place among all of the towering giants, and I know she is learning so much from them.

There are a few aggressive dogs sometimes, but we see how they go and if the owners don't seem to keep their dogs in line, we stay for only a short time. But if Bella finds a friend to wrestle with, we make sure to stay longer so that she can have some fun.

A dalmatian owner loved the fact that her old dog was so active around Bella that she wanted to make plans to see us again at the park. I'm glad to see that other people are so understanding of such an energetic puppy. Sometimes I worry that some people will be cranky that a puppy is in the mix of things. But the way I see it, is if your dog is trying to beat up a little happy-go-lucky puppy, that dog shouldn't be in the dog park to begin with.

Most of the dogs are so friendly to Bella and playful. The funniest is an old Rottweiler that tries to protect little Bella between his legs. Any time another dog tries to get too rough with her, he just steps in and gently nudges her between his legs, then pushes a bit at the rough dog.

There was also a coon hound that tried to lure Bella to play with him, but she had already gotten tired out playing fetch.

I'm glad to say that Bella absolutely loves children. She accepts their commands (I tell the kids that they have to tell her to sit before she can play fetch) and brings the ball back to the kids every time. One time she got a little confused and dropped the ball at my feet. :dogtongue2:

Every night we drive home from the park, she sets her little head on my arm and looks up at me as if thanking me for giving her such a good time.

One thing I've discovered now that I have Bella, is that I'm such a sucker and a sap for those cute brown eyes. I guess they don't call them 'puppy eyes' for nothing. ]]> bellapup http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=205 Photos of out 3rd agility training! :) http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=204 Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:05:26 GMT So, here we go.
We just love agility, can't get enough of it.

First:
How many women do you need, to put together the slalom? :D


Then, doing the slalom:
[media]http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee129/Szecsuani/DSCF4323.jpg[/media]

[media]http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee129/Szecsuani/DSCF4365.jpg[/media]


And jumps:
[media]http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee129/Szecsuani/DSCF4427.jpg[/media]

[media]http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee129/Szecsuani/DSCF4424.jpg[/media]

Not too many pictures, but I think you can see, that Pami enjoys it! :)
At least I do... :D ]]> szecsuani http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=204 Thunder storms http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=203 Mon, 04 Aug 2008 03:58:07 GMT My nine year old standard poodle Geronimo is so afraid of storm, gun shots & fire works. That he is glued to me an will not eat. The older he gets the frightened he becomes. I need suggestions as I have tried many things. Like holding him, talking, music, even rapping him up in blanket. nothing works! Also he will not eat for one two days an he eights 48Lbs. ]]> geeeer http://www.dogtrickacademy.com/members/forum/blog.php?b=203