Bad Puppy

Design from http://www.cafepress.com/weaselpuppy, under "flyball designs"

Well, remember how I was posting about Bennie being such a good boy? Remember how I said he wasn't destructive? Ummm. . . I kind of lied.

I didn't mean too. It's just that I think Bennie's found his inner puppy. He isn't bad, mind you, he's just a typical puppy. But I had been suckered in by his earlier angelic behaviour. Today, every time I turn around, he's chewing on a shoe, counter surfing, or pulling yarn out of the carpet. I think it's just that he's beginning to settle in, and, also, I've been busy and distracted today. He got bored. Bored puppies are dangerous things.

He does it all with complete puppy innocence and greets you with a wagging tail. Such a good natured puppy.

He went to flyball practice with the other two yesterday. Of course, he is too young to do any intensive training. I just practiced recalls and let him play with different dogs and be petted by strange people. I've discovered he will howl in that circumstance. Ordinarily, he's so quiet. In his defense, everybody else was vocalizing to the best of their abilities at the time.

My two dogs, Weasel and Spoiled One, did well at practice. It looks like we are going to the Rio Rancho tournament, so Bennie won't get his out of state trip for a while. Weasel and Spoiled One did well on their box work. I seem to have broken my passing jinx. I didn't do well, but I was within a few feet and not running the other dog out of the lane. I did have to move Spoiled One back to 40 feet and wait until Molly had jumped the second jump, but I can deal with that.

I like long weekends. I finally got a new design up.

http://www.weaselpuppy.com

Some Days You're Hot and Some Days You're Not

Alas, I did not do well at flyball practice today. We were practicing a potential "B" team, with Dusty, Gizzy, Spoiled One and Spoiled One's Partner in Crime. Well, first we tried the line up with Dusty, Gizzy, Partner in Crime and Spoiled One. Gizzy is a cute little orange cattle dog sheltie mix. She probably runs about a 6 second run. Partner in Crime runs closer to 4 seconds. Partner's handler kept releasing too soon and having way early passes. So we switched Partner and Spoiled One.

I used to be good at passing with Spoiled One. Really. Not today. Spoiled One was passing Gizzy way early, when she was still on the jumps. Gizzy would end up veering completely out of the lane to avoid a potential collision, and it wasn't her fault - I kept passing way to early. And I knew it. And I tried to fix it, but I kept doing it, over and over. It was so frustrating, because Gizzy needs to keep her confidence up and being railroaded by the two biggest, most rambunctious dogs on the team isn't the way to do it.

I'm so frustrated with myself. I think I've gotten used to Spoiled One automatically slowing and adjusting for the oncoming dog. Gizzy is just so much smaller, he wasn't bothering to adjust for her. And, I just couldn't get out of the rut of making the same mistake, over and over. Hopefully, I can get back in the right zone again. Maybe, if I change my release point to the 3rd jump, instead of the first.

On the positive side, another dog, a little cattle dog/border collie (I think) was really showing some speed on recalls! She even beat Weasel a couple of times. Now, if we can get her to have the same drive to the box, she ought to be a little speed demon.

We may be going to Hurricane! I really hope so. At a U-FLI tournament, we can run the green dogs in singles and pairs and reduce the stress levels on their handlers. In a NAFA tournament, it's all or nothing, and we may not be able to field two solid teams with alternates, yet.

Practice, Toenails, and Cockroaches

So, we had practice today. Many people weren't there, but some were. Enough to run a couple of teams, anyway. The dogs did reasonably well. Spoiled One was going for the tug, and tugging very enthusiastically. I used a tennis ball as a crutch, but he's definately improved on that. Also, he did not create any passing issues. In fact, the littlest dog on the team, who is still refining her passes, whipped right by him, even when I released him way too early and they passed on the jump. His box turn wasn't, but I hadn't been working that like I should. I may have to just keep working that in homework.

Weasel was running fast, because she was running first and right before her Idol Dog, so she was in flying ferret heaven. With her running first and the Idol dog running second, they timed at 8.1 seconds, which I thought was cool. Of course you have to factor in things like the timer starts when the first dog breaks the beam, while in tournaments it starts and you have to hit it right to minimize the delay between the timer start and the dog crossing the start line, but hopefully, I'll do okay with that. Other factors weigh in the other direction: we're practicing on grass and an uneven surface, the Idol Dog was 10 - 15 feet late on her pass (because Weasel is such a spaz, she's hard to judge where to pass). It might be kind of fun to run them in pairs at the next U-FLI tournament we go to. Of course, I would also love to run Spoiled One and Weasel in pairs. There are a number of obsticals to that goal. Weasel usually runs with the team, so it might be too many heats for her to run pairs as well. I can't run two different dogs in the same race. However, someone offered to work Weasel at practice a bit, and seemed to have fun, so maybe I could sucker someone into running her and I could run Spoiled One? Hmmmm. . . .

On the way home, they each got a plain Lottaburger. As they sprawled in the living room, sated and tired, I lopped the tippy tips off of their toenails. Because I keep them in when I am at work, now, they don't get the exercise of running the fence and discussing politics with the neighbor dogs. This is probably the first time Spoiled One's nails have been long enough to trim. FWIW, the drimmel sucks, use chopper type clippers. Just my opinion.

Weasel is always bringing me little gifts to play with. She finds rubber bands and sets them on my knee and gives me the pleading, hopeful look, trying to entice me into a game of tug o war. Or she drops the unopened mail at my feet, checking to see if it's permissible to chew it up. Bottle caps and bits of scraps of things are always appearing around my feet as potential items to be tossed and caught for doggie amusement. Lately, she's been finding the cat's toy mice and offering them up. It's so cute. Well, this morning, I let her in from her morning constitutional in the yard, and she presented me with a cockroach. A LIVE cockroach.

Spoiled One Offered a Box Turn!

This picture shows Spoiled One's typical smash and grab. Horrible, isn't it? Tonight, I was dinging around with the practice box, a tug and a jump in the hallway and Spoiled One OFFERED a real box turn. I'm not talking lure him over and lure him back. No step in and back. I was standing halfway down the hall and made a vague gesture with the tug and he zipped down the hall, planted all of those tootsies on the box and zipped back.

WOW

I thought it was a fluke, and tried again. He did it again. And again. And again.

OoooOOOOooooo

I'm excited. Even though I doubt I will ever get a repitition of this momentus event, it shows he can, physically, do it. It also kinda shows that he knows what I've been asking for all along. But, the idea that he is a PITA, obedience is optional, make up his own rules type of dog shouldn't really surprise me.

Anyway, I just had to share this brief flash of joy. It's hard to resist making him do it over and over and over, just to relish the moment, but I know better than to drive him into the ground.

At least for this brief instant of time, he is a Good Dog.

Last Practice Before the Texas Tournament

Today was the last practice before the Texas Tournament. The dogs did well. Spoiled One and Weasel were consistant at the box with the prop. They both did well at the full runs. The new Jack is a little firecracker of enthusiasm. There were some handler issues, though. I forgot to insist on a prop for Spoiled One for his last full runs. I still need to refine the way I hold Weasel so that I can actually get my fat little tushy moving to run after her up to the line. The worst problem, though, was people weren't keeping track of their dogs.

We practice in a fenced, grassy field. It's so easy to get in the habit of letting the dog out of the crate, letting it zing all over the field and bounce around the flyball lanes and take a potty break while we decide the running order, set the camera, chatter, get a drink, then meander over and call them to us to line up. It's a bad habit, though. The dogs are obsessed with the flyball lanes and wander back and forth in the ten to twenty foot runback, or gallup up for a trial run over the jumps to see if there might be a tennis ball in the box. They also play games with each other, like keep away with the flyball lane. Today, when Weasel was released for a recall, one of the other dogs decided to meander across the lane and got clocked in the head by Weasel going full speed.

Weasel seems unfazed by the incident, but the other dog was visibly stunned, then erratic. I was concerned that she was concussed or maybe even going to have a seizure. She seemed fine after a few moments of panic, but what a horrible thing to potentially happen to one of our pets! A little while later, we were running the other team, and one of the owners was distracted and walked across the lane in front of Spoiled One in his recall. Spoiled One managed to miss him, but 60lbs of dog colliding with you at top speed could do a lot of damage.

Honestly, even without the potential for injury, it is simply frustrating to have someone's dog dancing around and deliberately getting in the way for recalls and warmups. The owner usually has no idea because they are distracted, and then, when they are ready to go, the dog zips right over to them.

Grumble, grumble, grumble.

I'm just as bad, though. I need to be more aware.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the tournament. I hope Weasel does well and earns a new best time in singles, and I hope Spoiled One does well on the pick-up and earns lots of points. I also really hope I don't screw up and make a complete idiot of myself.

Dropping like Flies

This flyball stuff is hard on people. Everyone kept getting injured.

First, someone apparently wrenched something chasing after a puppy while they were getting ready to come out to practice. A big young smooth tri border collie missed the tug and got his owner. Then he and another dog with resource guarding issues had an "incident" with a young girl in the middle. The girl was nipped or clawed, though she handled it well. After that, someone got their fingers wrenched and a nail torn to the quick holding a dog for a recall.

They were all preventable things. Hindsight is cool that way. So, with this inspiration, some suggested safety rules for practice.

1. Keep your dog under control. Don't let it run around and possibly have an "incident" with another dog.

2. Resource guarding is bad. It isn't "protectiveness" Don't allow it, and if you know your dog has that issue, resource guard it to keep a zone of safety.

3. Watch out for children. Lots of dogs guard them. Other dogs are afraid of them. Still others with high prey/chase drive (like herding dogs and flyball dogs) think they make wonderful sheep substitutes.

4. Use flyball collars, harnesses, tabs or body holds when doing restrained recalls - especially with hyper or nervous dogs. They spin and get hands and fingers caught in flat collars, then panic and spin more.

5. Gloves.

Tugging techniques: Try to make the end of the tug away from you hand move more and draw the dog's attention away from the end in your hand. Hold the tug with both hands for large dogs. Encourage dogs to grab and hold on, rather than continually regripping on the tug. Wear gloves. Encourage an aversion to teeth on skin. Whenever doggie toofies make skin contact, draw back, make a sharp noise like "ow" and stop interacting with the dog for a few minutes - even if it was obviously accidental.

oowie oowie

Weasel missed the tug and got my hand at practice today. Hurts. I enjoyed a few hypochondriac moments wondering if it were broken, but all the fingers still work. Stiff, swollen and changing colors, though. Kind of interesting to watch.

The good part about it was that she was going for the tug. I think I am making real progress with her. I'm working her going straight back from the box now, instead of over-rotating her, and it seems to be going well. Spoiled One was going all the way over the prop sometimes. He didn't pull the "miss the first jump" thing he was doing at previous practices, either. He is tending to jump over the jump to the box, then bound off the box wide, instead of heading back down the lane. I was starting to make some progress by screaming for him just before he hit the box, while standing on the opposite side of which he turns toward. He was tiring, though, by the time I discovered that.

On the whine and grumble list: We ran a line up first thing, and the dogs were bobbling because they weren't used to the prop, so they took it out :( How will they get used to the prop if it isn't there? How will the dogs progress if they aren't challenged? Frustrating. Alas, the world doesn't revolve around me and my opinions. However, I did get boxtraining sessions in with both of them with the prop on their own. And, I've bought some gutter which I am going to use during the week with the practice box.

I'd really like it if we could somehow do a skill training/boxwork session midweek. I'd be willing to plan it if I could be sure of at least one other person showing up and if I knew of an indoor place with lighting where we could work. There are no lights in the field, and by the time I get off of work, it's dark. I live in a residential area, so I can't just set something up in the garage and do it due to the barking. grumble.

Anyway, nothing earth shattering. Pretty typical practice.

CafePress Has Flip Minos!

Cool! Cafepress has flip minos - those cool little digital cameras. So, I'm busy designing away to come up with some spiffy ones for recording passes at tournaments. Check them out!

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Maybe Running Veterans in Rio Rancho

Spoiled One may be running veterans on Sunday in Rio Rancho, which is both cool and kind of sad. It's cool because he'll get to run both days, probably, with the regular team on Saturday and with the Veteran's team on Sunday. But, my puppy is EIGHT YEARS OLD. He's getting older. He doesn't seem it, really, maybe a little calmer and easier to manage. I don't want my dog to be old.

Well, at eight, he's more middle aged than old, I guess. Anyway, I will be sure to do stretchies and warm ups for him. The sad part is a lot of core dogs on our team are getting near the veterans mark. The start dog, Weasel's idol dog, our current height dog, have all been there the entire four years Zeph has been training. I believe the idol dog and the start dog will be qualifying for veteran's in a year or two. With the new dogs, we'll have to be careful to practice with several different dogs in the start dog position and I would love it if we got more than one height dog going strong, so we could switch them out.

Weasel will run with the regular team both days, probably. She's just starting her flyball career. I should be working on their endurance conditioning (and mine - Spoiled One is a workout to run). Also, as always, building tug drive. The current tugging game is making them wait in another room, grabbing the tug and calling them to race and come get it.

I also ordered them one of the much coveted pheasants and a mallard from the website. Weasel has joyfully snuck into my teammates cars and stolen their pheasant every practice. She's so cute and proud as she would prance about, chased by the pack of dogs, proudly squeaking her prize and then drowning it in the water bucket. I tried a petwhatever one, but it held no thrill for her. My theory is that it's because it's SOMEONE ELSE's pheasant that she loves it so, but I am trying to accomodate her. Maybe my teammate and I can switch pheasants every practice.

Such spoiled dogs. . .

We survived the Tournament!

Actually, it was a lot of fun, after a rough start. I didn't leave home for the eight hour drive until long after I had planned, and didn't get to the hotel until 3:00 am. The it was walk dogs, feed dogs, water dogs, shower, and up at 6:00 to find the tournament site. I forgot a chair and stumbled around in a zombie daze the first day. I was too spaced to put on sunscreen, had the expressiveness of a corpse, and I think people were afraid to talk to me.

However, after I got a chance to get some sleep, I felt much perkier the second day. My Weasel did very well. She ran flawlessly, over and over. Even when I pulled an evil trick and passed her off to someone else to handle, she was briefly confused and then figured it out. She believed the boxloader was a boogyman, but they were patient.

Spoiled One was a BAD BOY. He was the one we were initially trying to have handled by someone else. The other person was a great handler, and very patient, but Spoiled One was being impossible. I'm surprised she got any runs out of him. She deserves a medal for putting up with him. Honestly, he was like a 60 lb Jack Russell with issues. (Sorry, jack lovers, I know there are some nice ones, but, well, you know. . .)

Weasel was chased back down the lane by a little terrier, but no damage was done. She handled it well, kept running back to me so I could intervene and save her. The little dog left off immediately when I pushed it away and told it no. Poor Weasel. She's getting to be everydog's chew toy. She still has an owie on her nose from the incident at the last practice. It always scares me when the little ones chase down the big ones, because they're really so vulnerable to a crunch or a pick up and shake if the bigger dog takes them up on it.

Anyway, it was a lot of fun for my first open team. The dogs won tennis balls in the raffle, which is all they want anyway.

Nervous About Tournament

I'm nervous.

I hope Weasel and Spoiled One do well.

I hope I do okay.

I hope I find the venue.

I hope the new fabric crate works.

I hope no dogs or people get hurt.

I don't know why I am so freaked. I've done tournaments before. The dogs have run before. I have had dogs break out of crates at tournements, have caught other people's loose dogs. I have been through bad tournaments and good tournaments. This isn't biggie.

But it is.

I don't know why.

Maybe I just need sleep. Maybe I'm just wigging because of all of the last minute organizational things (meet someone to get the pass, driving up so late, finding the people I'm running with, not knowing if I'm starting, finding the hotel, finding the tournament, etc.) Maybe I just feel very alone. I'm the only one from my team going up there.

Anyway, just feeling scared and thought I would share.

'night.

Weasel Was Bitten

Well, Weasel was bitten yesterday at flyball practice. I believe the other dog was just resource guarding the tennisball. He had an "incident" with another dog and made snarly faces at several others.



No real harm done, though I did some quick obedience with her afterward to get her out of the defensive zone. She passed near the other dog several times afterward with no signs of aggression on her part. My poor puppy.



Other than that, practice kind of sucked because it was hot. No one really wanted to be there, but it was my last chance for team practice before Weasel's first tournament. Ironically, Weasel did well, no jump skipping or ball dropping, came back nicely. I want more speed out of her. It was too hot, though and she was a black dog on a hot day. She gave what she could, which is all I can ask of her. I'll see how she does at the tournament.



Spoiled One pulled a little skip the jumps coming back kind of stuff, but got over it. He was a good boy. It's kind of hard to believe he'll be eight.



In shop news, I did a new design. It's all environmentalisty, not flyball, however.

Border Collie Exercise Ball

Wow!

I've discovered a new border collie exercise device at flyball practice today!

We've been "cast out" from our practice area for a month, and so now practices are a bit nomadic. This weekend, it was at a local dog park. The park has a grassy, tree-y, heavily used main section and a smaller, fenced off area with wood chips that no one uses. So, we were practicing there.

My car was full of flyball stuff, and I couldn't really put the big ole' metal crates in there. I had these little cheapo fabric pop up ones that I thought I would use, or just tie the dogs to the fence. There was no shade, so I popped Weasel into one of the fabric crates while we were getting set up.

There was so much junk to haul. Water. Dog toys. Dogs. Flyball Boxes. Hurdles. Gates. Tape measurers. Lots and lots of junk. All down a hill from the parking lot to the park.

People and dogs arrived. Flyball lanes were set up. One of the handlers started doing box work.

"Rrrready - hit it - good dog"

And Weasel's crate tumbled over.

"Oh," I said, and started walking over to reassure her. But then it tumbled again, and again and again, end over end, in a very specific direction.

Now, Weasel is a border collie. Weasel is crazy. Weasel is exhuberant. Weasel is many things, but most importantly, Weasel is a flyball dog and Weasel isn't stupid. The first tumble may have been an accident, but that crate rapidly rolling toward the flyball lanes like an exercise ball for a hamster had a mission. Weasel had figured out how to get where she wanted to be.

I was laughing so hard I couldn't move, so someone else caught the crate and let the dog out, and I tied her to the fence.

Crazy dog.

Nail Trimming Woes

My poor Weasel. I was trimming her talons with a real nail trimmer, instead of the drimmel tool, because I had let them go too long and I got the quick on one. I made my poor puppy bleed. Fortunately, I had quick stop, and she didn't seem to notice, but I still feel like a baaaaaad person. I guess watching Groomer Has It did teach me something.

On the plus side, she may get to run on an open team in Colorado! It will mean lots of driving, but I hope it works out. Of course, than I have to find a puppy sitter for the Spoiled One. Maybe I can talk one of my flyball teammates into it. I could take him with me, but it's a long drive, just to stuff him in a kennel. Besides, my Spoiled One is a high maintenance PITA, and I would kind of want to focus on Weasel and figuring out the details of running her with strange dogs, rather than worry about a neglected Spoiled One. And it would break his heart to go hear all the flyball noises and not get to run.

Weasel's Gotcha Day

I'm a bad owner. I didn't do anything for Weasel's Gotcha Day. It actually happened about a weekago (and two years) on June 22 2006 I brought home this teensy, soggy little puppy that was all ears and mohawk. Actually, those are still pretty noticable features, but she's grown into a greyound like body and some elegant feathering. Anyway, I remembered on the day and told her I was glad I had her. I'm afraid that was about it. I am so anxious for her to go to a tournament and run as part of a team.

Alas, no flyball practice. To many team members vacationing and whatnot. Our team has been somewhat decimated of late. One team member moved to another state - she had our height dog and our up and comer. Another team member has been preoccupied with work stuff - he has our start dog and one of the team dogs. So that left, me, the team captain, and a whole bunch of green dogs and puppies. There is a lot of promise in the newer dogs, but I wanna tournament! Wah! Maybe I can talk one of the newbies whose coming along well into a pairs race in Texas.

And the agility drill card has run out, so no agility, either. They were doing pretty well, too. Weasel was doing the obsticals and weave poles and sequencing. Spoiled One was doing it with treats, except he has to be babysat through the weave poles. The dogs have practically lapsed into a coma. I'll have to scare up some entertainment for them. However, it's so hot, it's hard to work up the energy. Whine, whine whine. We are all going on a car trip to Lake of the Woods. Four dogs, three people, one car. Fun. I hope I can figure out a way to get the dogs to the beach when I'm there. Weasel needs to see the ocean, and it's been so long since spoiled one got to run on a beach.

So, that's it. We're boring right now.

Update on Building Tug Drive

Forgot to report on the success or failure of my tug drive building efforts.

Actually, at flyball practice this weekend, I was surprised in a good way. Spoiled One actually showed interest and could be lured into dropping the ball and grabbing the tug after practice. Weasel, unfortunately, wasn't as cooperative. Part of the problem was that we were running her on the same team as her idol dog, and so she was very distracted. However, Weasel will have to learn to run with that dog. My teammates suspect that Weasel is focusing on the frisbee the idol dog handler uses. I believe she is focusing on the frisbee the idol dog uses.

I think I need to run Weasel by herself, using the tug, next practice. Also, I will continue working on fetch and tug exercises this week, and I will try to not let her play ball before the practice when we are setting up. She needs to work on meeting people skills anyway.

All in all, good. I have hope. I feel like I am making progress with this tug thingy.

Trying To Build Tug Drive

Well, I'm working on it. It's difficult, though, when you have a 60lb dog. But, tonight, Spoiled One and I did the fetch and tug, fetch and tug, fetch and tug. I made growly noises and swung that great goliath of a dog in circles with the tug. I let him win and play keep away with the tug. He seemed a little invested in it at the end, standind over the tug and wagging and looking at me. There is still the long pause while he decides to spit out the ball and take the tug. We'll try lots more of that.

Weasel was doing better. She spits out that ball and hits the tug on the fly. I hope it will carry over to team practice this weekend. There was a little bit of phoning it in - mouthing the tug then waiting for me to throw the ball again. Practice, practice, practice. At least she doesn't hurt my back when she tugs. I couldn't get her to do keep away or win when we played tug. The minute I let go, she dropped it, if not before.

They're both very intuitive dogs. I think if I stick with it, they'll get into it. If this doesn't work, maybe I'll get something washable and put Cheese Whiz on it and sew squeakers in it, until I get some enthusiasm from the dogs.

Yet Another Flyball Practice

Yes, it was yet another flyball practice. There have been some practices inbetween entries.

Spoiled One is doing good - he is being passable and passing fine. I am trying to get him to come back for the wubba, but he wants a ball. However, he was tugging on it a bit and seeming to get into it. I am being terrible about warm up and cool down exercises. I guess it's more play time with the wubba and endurance work for this week. Next week, I may see if I can get someone else to try to run him.

Weasel thinks tugs are boring. I screech and squeal and spin it and let the puppies play with it and throw it and carry on. It bounces off her head as she runs by. There is just so much stimulation, at practice. She was sort of responding to it during box work, but not for recalls or runs. I suspect, though, that its a matter of screw my courage to the sticking place and keep at it. Maybe if I can squeeze in some dog park visits (without letting her run around and play, but working with her) it would help. She could get some more people exposure and new dog exposure and see if any of it looses the thrill.

She's actually doing extremely well. I just want her on the tug! She loves it at home.

Shedding Season and Weasel Ran Start in Practice

Ahhhh, Spring!

That wonderful season where everything is budding and erupting, waking from winter doldrums. The tulips burst from the ground, the buds burst from the trees, the songs burst from the birds.

And the hair bursts from the dog. Great masses of hair. Everywhere.

Ordinarily, I love the Spoiled One's coat. It's that nice teflony, glossy, straight coat of a german shepherd dog. He can be coated with muck, but a shake or two and it's gone. Until the seasons change. Then, I pay my dues.

You see, he sheds. Molts. Sloughs undercoat in huge cloudlike masses. I strip great wads of dead hair from him on an hourly basis. He finds the process a bit annoying. Weasel is overwhelmed with jealousy at the attention Spoiled One receives, and her head keeps getting in the way, wind from her tail whipping back and forth sending the cloudy mounds of stripped undercoat flying. Of couse, when she's being brushed, Weasel's head gets horribly jealous of whatever other part of her is being brushed and tries to get in the way. Jealousy is sort of her thing. . .

Anyway, we did practice this weekend. It went well. The puppies and new dogs are coming along nicely. We need some little height dogs, but there is a promising cattle dog/sheltie cross. One of our main team members with three dogs is moving to Texas, so were having to refigure out team line-ups. Weasel did well passing and did not cause as much trouble as I was anticipating with her idol dog. She had a bit of a problem veering off the first jump when running second, but did fine running first. Spoiled One still intimidates the dog running after him, so that it veers off or slows down rather than meeting him nose to nose at the start line. At this point, though, it really isn't his fault. He isn't doing anything naughty, he just gives off an "air". What can I say, he's a redneck dog.

Now the dogs are resting peacefully. Spoiled One has one eye open, watching me in case I decide to pull more tufts of hair. Happy Shedding Season!

Icky Flyball Practice

Well. . . this week I hadn't done hardly anything with the dogs, and it showed.

My Spoiled One was skipping the jumps running back (he knows better) and Weasel was so obsessed with her idol dog that it was hard to get her to run at all. I guess neglect doesn't lead to good flyball dogs.

So, I guess my homework this week will be to do endurance training and strength training with Spoiled One, so that he doesn't blow off the jumps. Weasel needs concentration exercises. Maybe I'll use weave poles to help get her to listen. Oh, and lots of just fun stuff. They haven't had enough fun time this week. Poor neglected puppy dogs.

Saturday Flyball Practice

Weasel did it! She ran heats with the team as the third dog in flyball practice this week, and successfully passed both ways each time. She didn't run out to play with the puppies or go herd the soccer ball. She left the boxloader unlicked. She was a very good girl. There is a little distraction going on. I am having to physically push her head back because she keeps looking back over her shoulder at her idol dog when I am lining her up to run. Also, she is a little too interested in another dog's tug, so I need to get a hold of her quicker after she runs. I wouldn't know what to do with a perfect dog, though.

Spoiled one also did well running with his enemy dog. The enemy dog growled at my Spoiled One, and insulted his ancestry while they were lined up, waiting to run, and growled at him as my dog passed him. (The enemy dog runs last, my Spoiled One second to last, so they pass each other.) So far, I am able to keep Spoiled One's mischevious focus on the ball and not the enemy dog. The other dog definately focuses attention on my dog, though, and not in a good way, and my dog notices him. I would prefer they didn't run one right after the other. If my dog didn't bark and carry on so much as we are lining up to run, I suspect the issue would go away. All the noise he makes draws attention from the other dog.

Starter Flyball Boxes - DON'T USE THEM

A lot of times, when people start flyball, they are very excited to get their dog to take the ball out of the box. This causes them to start looking at things like this: Starter Flyball Box Just my opinion, of course, but I believe these are a complete waste of money - or worse, actually damaging to your training regimen.

The big bugaboo, the most important, firstest thing you want to teach your flyball dog is the swimmer's turn off the box. Little "starter" boxes like these teach the dog to slap the box with his front feet and the wonderfull tennis ball flies out. Now, if he is as ball crazy as 99% of flyball dogs, the blasted tennis ball is the one sole meaning to his life and obtaining it and getting it flying again is the be-all end-all of his existence. So, training effectively stops dead when that hypnotic sphere goes flying and you end up with a dog with a bad habit like my Spoiled One, of slamming the box with his front feet instead of doing a swimmers turn. He was the first dog I trained for flyball, and I am working and working with him, but I have not been able to train him out of this.

Especially if your dog is ball crazy, it's better to teach them the swimmer's turn off the box before you introduce any fuzzy green distractions. Trust me, they usually figure out what to do when the ball comes flying out at them as they bound off the box. But, if they don't have that swimmer's turn already set in their muscle memory, ingrained in their doggy soul, it probably isn't going to happen if there are tennis balls flying about. Here is more information on techniques for training a swimmer's turn.

http://www.cafepress.com/weaselpuppy

Ball Shagger Design and Saturday Practice

Yep, a new design for my shop. This one is in honor of all those brave ball shaggers. It gets scary in the run back area sometimes - all the flying dogs and screaming handlers and tennis balls everywhere!

Anyway, practice went well. The Spoiled One again successfully let another dog pass him. This time it was a border collie, the same one he had bullied into leaping a line judge at a recent tournament. (Yeah, it's funny. . .now. Pain in the neck dog.)

My Weasel did not do as well. I experimented with running her while using the team member she especially loves as boxloader. Alas, it was too much for her. Overcome with joy, she ran randomly about the field, so I caught her and stuffed the little ditz back in her crate. One of the newbie people had been playing with her dog when Weasel ran off in that direction, and felt bad that she had distracted her, but, honestly, Weasel needs those kinds of distractions. Besides, I suspect her beloved one boxloading for her was the more overwhelming factor. Silly dog.

Anyway, I'll give Weasel another chance shot next week.

Wags for Wishes Flyball (Arizona)

Well, we survived the tournament!

Actually, it was fun. Cold. But fun. Weasel did surprisingly well for her very first tournament. She ran perfectly, but still slow, in singles. We'll have to work on squeezing a bit more speed on her and setting her box turn better. I believe it's time for me to stop working that on a practice box at home and keep it for team practice. She did show some competitiveness, digging her toes in and looking over at the dog in the other lane. She seemed to really be racing him (or trying - he was a fast dog). So, now, I need to teach her to pass and condition her to stretch out and run. She's such a funny looking little thing. . .

The Spoiled One had a naughty moment or five. It involved crossing over into the other lane and stealing the other dog's ball, and then trying to chase the other dog down for the contested ball. He got yelled at for that one. I can put up with a little running outside the jumps or slowing down or other mischief in his own lane, but crossing over is too dangerous. Plus, I was scared the other dog would be threatened or alarmed and take a piece out of him, or frightened or injured by a collision. My Spoiled One may look like a big bad shepherd cross, but he has the fighting skills of a tribble. He just doesn't seem to get that the other dog may not be playing.

Anyway, he stayed in his own lane after that. In his defense, he had been innocently dozing in his crate when someone other than me (I'm the only one who handles him) ran up, snatched him out of the crate and off to the flyball lane mid race, on the other side from his other races that day. He didn't get a recall or a chance to get his bearings before I sent him down the lane. So it was really my fault for letting the situation develop that way.

FWIW - fake grass isn't the best running surface. It's slicker than real grass, burns the dog's feet, heats in the sun, and is enough like the real stuff to tempt dogs to pee on it, but fake enough to require cleaning. As in all the outdoor tournaments we have attended, the sun caused the start sensors to malfunction. There was also a problem of not being able to see the start light or the time displays due to the glare. I avoided volunteering as a line judge because of this. None of this was under the host club's control, however.

The elements that were under their control went very well. I loved seeing all of the horses and getting glimpses of the herding. There seemed to be a very reasonable schedule of races to get through. It was nice having such a large, varied area to walk the dogs in and the fair food and booths were great! One of our team members was on crutches, and being able to park adjacent to the crating area was a real life-saver. Also, crating right next to the lanes made it easy to watch and track the racing. There were even real bathrooms! The host club worked through a lot of last minute changes and pulled it together into a fun weekend of racing. Thank you! I hope you made a lot of money for the Wags for Wishes.

To all the teams we raced with - Thank You and Great Racing!

Passing and Improving Speed on the Run Back

Gratuitous "Inflatodog" design from my store -------->

We pushed The Spoiled One (aka Magic Inflatodog and The One Who Will Not Be Passed) and he actually let another dog pass him - WhooHoo! There had been several practices where he ran last, with no opportunities to practice blocking the other dog. The passing dog was a tough little cattle dog and I threw a ball and screamed at him to help entice Spoiled One to continue past the finish line. Next weekend's tournament should be interesting. . .

Weasel Puppy is doing the down and back, hitting the box properly, getting the ball, bringing it all the way back. She's not being distracted by people playing with tennis balls or excited puppies on the sidelines. The issue is she is lollygagging. Not on the way down - she speeds down to the box, but sort of hangs onto the box, watching the other dog, then sort of cantering back. I only got a 5.1 out of her, and I think she's a lot faster than that. She's ignoring the tug, or treats, and she just wants to go again and again and again. I am hoping a fast dog in the other lane at the tournament will spark her up a bit. We'll practice recalls and tug games this week to help with drive. Maybe I should make her a new tug, just for the tournament?

We had someone drop from the team. They were running a dog for someone else, so we still have the dog, just not the handler. I may be running that dog, which is a fast one, so I may not get to run Spoiled One much. I'll probably be completely worn out stressing over Weasel's first tournament, though. Maybe I'll pack energy drinks, chocolate, and wine. That way, I can boost my energy, console my spirit and drown my sorrows! Too bad they all have calories. Oh, well. It was a thought. Why do we do this again? Oh, yeah. We're hoping to win a stuffed toy the dogs will destroy in under a minute.

http://www.cafepress.com/weaselpuppy

http://www.squidoo.com/flyballfever

Weasel Puppy Seems To Be Getting It!

Well, Weasel seems to be getting it! She's done really well (for her) in practice last weekend, Wednesday, and then this weekend. Weasel is running down the lane to the box, getting the ball with a swimmers turn, and running back to me. She's doing very well at staying in her lane. Only a couple episodes of wiggle and lick the boxloader.

What has me really excited, though, is she is starting to compete with the dog in the other lane. Granted, it's currently manifesting by her clinging to the box, waiting for the other dog to get it's ball, then racing it back, but still! I was worried that she wouldn't get the thrill of the game. I'm glad that she's developing her competitive spirit. Though, it probably will be real annoying when she is the third dog on our team hanging out at the box waiting for the fourth dog from the opposing team. . .

http://www.cafepress.com/weaselpuppy

Saturday Practice

So, we finally got in a team practice yesterday. The dogs did surprisingly well, considering. My Weasel still has a bad case of puppy lick the boxloaderitis, and general ditziness, but she was able to focus on what she was doing when there was a dog in the other lane, whether that dog was ahead of or behind her. I'm still quite nervous. The eight team practices I was counting on before the next tournament have been reduced to three, if we're lucky.

She doesn't latch onto the tug at practice, though. It's very frustrating, because at home she loves it and comes crashing into it full bore. At team practice, she's completely blind to it. I tried a little bit with her when she wasn't in the lane at practice, and got some interest, but it was too distracting to the dog we were actually working to continue. I think I am just going to have to keep sneaking that in where I can. She was very intrigued with another dog's tug toy, though. The secret might be in rotating the tug toys so she thinks she's getting something new and novel.

One of my teammates likes to practice recalls by having the handler send the dog up the lane to this person, and then this person sends the dog back down the lane to this person. I didn't want Weasel to associate the person at the boxloader end of the lane with attention and praise, though. She already has problems in that area and so I insisted on having the person at the box end of the lane release her to run to me, then walking Weasel back up and handing her off to them and running back to the other end for a recall.

Spoiled One was a good boy. I think he was just so glad to be doing flyball that he was on his best behaviour. Also, we ran him last in the line up, rather than as the start dog, so he couldn't pull the inflato dog trick. Hopefully, after Wags in Arizona, we can work more on him as a start dog. I would really like to push him in that role. I believe, once we get the monster past his little passing issue, he could be a real asset that way.

Anyway, the dogs were very happy to be having team practice. I didn't get any pictures this time. Sorry.

http://www.cafepress.com/weaselpuppy

Random Store Plug

<---Looky Looky! It's one of the designs from my cafe press store. Click http://www.cafepress.com/weaselpuppy to see more.





<--Gross dog spit spelling out the word "flyball" - what more could you ask for?

Boxloading

Boxloading - do you love it or hate it?

Some people think it's a boring, stupid job and they should just invent a self-loading box.

Some people find it very stressful. Everyone's always yelling at them and they can't seem to remember what hole or size of ball they should be loading.

Sometimes, if you're good at it or no one else is willing to step up, you spend your tournaments boxloading instead of running your dog (which sucks.)

Personally, I like boxloading. Maybe I'm easily entertained, but I like the challenge of getting the green dogs to pay attention to you rather than all the distracting things at a tournament. It's a good view to watch the match. It's fun to tease the dogs as they are getting ready to start - "rrrrrready? I have tennis balls - don't you want one? Are you going to come get it? Are you rrrrrrrrrreeady?" A lot of times I crack up the line judge. But it gets the dogs' attention.

Boxloading is an important part of the team. The dogs need to practice with the person who's going to be your team's boxloader. An unexpected stranger can spook many dogs. Also, if the dog is used to being teased when it's lined up at the start line, it may miss it's cue or respond differently when that routine changes. In the chaos of a tournament, a familiar voice draws the dog's attention and reminds it what it's there for. So, the person who box loads needs to practice the things they are going to do at the tournament. If they are going to encourage the dogs, do it in practice. If they are going to tease them at the start line, do it at practice. Don't consider boxloading a fill-in job.

And, if you are boxloading, don't stand there like a sack of potatoes. Tease the dogs. Try to get their attention. Call them down the lane. Cue them to hit the box. Remind them to jump on the return. Watch who faults and have the ball ready and be screaming the dog's name when it's time to rerun. It can avoid loosing several seconds while the handler tries to get a hold of the dog, pry a tug out of the dog's mouth, line it up, cue it up and release it, which can mean winning or loosing a heat. Also, you may be in the best position to see who it was who needed to rerun. If you have a voice left after the tournament, you're goldbricking.

Just my two cents' worth.

http://www.cafepress.com/weaselpuppy

Weasel Puppy

Weasel Puppy

Breed: Border Collie

DOB: March 2006

Most expensive thing she's destroyed: She ate a paycheck. Can't beat that.

So, why do I call this cute little border collie "weasel puppy"? Well, if you look at the picture, you'll notice her suspicious, wary expression. She tends to have that expression on most posed photographs. But that is not why she is Weasel Puppy.

Oddly, most people who see her in person do not question the little nickname. She is a conformation nightmare - roach backed, cow hocked, with a long, snarky muzzle. She is also blessed with a ridge of fur along her backbone that stands straight up - several inches high. We call it her backhawk. She has the border collie tendency to carry her head and tail low. All of which result in some pretty weird looking pictures. A pound-puppy special, she may or may not even be purebred border collie. Despite all of this, I think she's a rather pretty dog, and she's certainly very sweet and affectionate.

She is a little over a year and a half old and is in training for flyball. She's mastered the box turn but still has some puppy ditziness to work through. If we can get some team practices in, I plan for her try singles at a UFLI tournament in the early spring.

http://www.cafepress.com/weaselpuppy

Magic Inflato Dog

The Spoiled One

Breed: "International Shepherd"

Birthdate: Possibly August of 2000

Most expensive item he's destroyed: Wooden French doors with inset glass - high side of $1000. He's also eaten car seat belts, gone through closed patio doors, and inflicted the standard amount of damage to house and home one would expect of a nearly 60lb active dog.

He's been in training for flyball for about 3 years. Three looooong years. This dog has earned three NAFA titles, all in one weekend, but he's more of an entertainer than a competitor. We often get laughed at or applauded when we run and, no, it isn't that "ooooooh that was a good run" kind of applause. We've attempted to run him in three NAFA tournaments. The first tournament he didn't have a clue so was pulled almost immediately. The second, two years later, was the one where he got the three titles. The third tournament, shortly after the second, was the tournament where he developed his "magic inflato dog" trick.

It goes like this: I line him up at the start. He barks and carries on and focuses like a lazer on that tennis ball. His claws dig into the matting, every muscle tenses and the start light goes off. He takes off like a bullet. Boing, boing, boing, boing over the jumps, hit the box, get the ball boing, boing, boing, boi - ooops, what's this? He slows. His eyes fix on the next dog ready to go. He slows to a stop right before crossing the start/finish line, staring the other dog down and magically swelling to three times his normal size.

Now, he doesn't want to fight or anything. He's just playing keep away. With the flyball lane. Not real conducive to fast passes. Even the judge laughed at that one.

So, I'm guessing we'll need to work that issue in practice.

http://www.cafepress.com/weaselpuppy