Even more whacked out than I knew...

My dog Dare is pretty much nuts.  I know she is crazy but last night was beyond weird. 

As I excitedly pumped up my brand new Bosu with a foot pump (wonderful present from my mom that I can use for me AND the dogs!), I noticed Dare staring at me intently.  I kept pumping and she began whining and crying.  Okay...  Then again she does lots of weird things so I ignored it and next thing I know she starts barking her high pitch, ear drum shattering buzz saw bark. 

I just can't believe that a foot pump could possibly so exciting so I tell her to "chill" and continue. 

Next thing I know, my foot is being pummeled with a mighty ninja pounce...I scream and Dare rallies for another attack.  Okay, not so amused now.

The broomball is trying to escape

Luckily, Dare is always willing to find a replacement activity when she gets over stimulated so the whole foot pump episode prompted a little fit of broomball soccer which looks like this:

Can't contain the excitement

Dare background - the broomball escaped.  Brag just doesn't see what the big deal is about...there isn't any food, right?

Dare and her broomball - a match made in heaven

Good by-product of the stupid snow...

Seeing as how I haven't been able to exercise my dogs for days and they have been absolutely driving me up the wall (not sure if the pointed, pathetic expressions or the hyperactive spasms are worse), I promised them I'd do SOMETHING, ANYTHING with them today.  So, I put Dare behind the baby gate in the kitchen and started with Braggie.  First we just did some boring conditioning stuff (sideline situps, downs into stands, core stuff, etc), then moved into some work with rights and lefts (thought maybe I'd give training directionals a go in case I want to rule the world at Gamblers in the future) and spinning into heal position from whereever he is (he LOVES those and does them so freakin' cute) and finally I brought him to the staircase with the intent to do 2o/2o training.  I did a couple bottoms with him but then I decided I'd use the split, carpeted staircase to do some funs stuff like making him go away from me, run up the stairs, backing up while he was up there, doing sits and downs and catching treats from a far distance.  I realized Brag is awesome at backing up at a distance which I thought was cool and I also realized he doesn't really understand how to do a sit from a down at distance.  It also occured to me that I use the exact same word to mean line up at heal and back up away from me (well - they are a little different...I use 'get back' to mean line up at heal and 'back it up' to mean go in reverse) and that could be sort of confusing.  I think my dogs have more history with me saying 'get back' to I should come up with something new for backing in reverse...anyone have any ideas?

Anyway, while I was working with him it was so much FUN!  I didn't want to stop and kept coming up with different things to do.  Of course he thought it was the best shit ever too.  I hope it has inspired me to do stupid little pet tricks much more often instead of just taking them for a boring run or walk everyday. 

After Brag and I were done I brought Dare out.  She is sooooo much better at Brag at sitting up (I guess some people call it sitting pretty).  I need to get a picture of her because she is so freaking cute and always holds up her feet for balance and if she is losing her balance just moves her front paws around until she regains the balance.  The other cool thing she does is go into a stand from the sit pretty and then spin around like a circus pony.  I really don't know where she comes up with some of this stuff.  She woudl be such an amazing dog for someone that was really into tricks and really into Obedience...too bad she is stuck with me.  :)  On the other hand, Dare is so much worse at lining up at heal...she doesn't really get it and when Dare doesn't get something she starts spinning around trying new things and then the barking will start and everything gets very chaotic.  Brag gets all worked up behind the gate and jumps over and it is just a f*ckery.  Anway, we sort of worked through that and did right and lefts as well.  Interestingly she is very good at the right spins but not nearly as good at the left spins.  I find that peculiar since Brag is equal on both.  We then moved onto the staircase maneuvers and she was pretty decent at sits and downs at a distance from me but still comes forward on her down to hang her paws over the first step and likewise on the sit will come forward and sort of do a 2o/2o on the first step.  She seems to understand sit from down more than Brag.  We only received one uninvited visit from Brag during our staircase games.

To end the session I got out the clicker and more little treats and sat down on the couch to see what Dare would do with herself.  She started engaging the little ottoman which was no surprise because last winter we did some stupid pet tricks with the ottoman.  I was quite impressed that she remembered and what she was doing because somehow she managed to roll it around doing positions on it the entire way.  She also took off the top and did stuff with that by itself.  She is just so freaking 'operant' (risking being that annoying person by using that word but it is true).

Dare just cracks me up.  I think I've been so beyond frustrated with her in agility that I really needed this session to remind me what an absolutely cool, funny and scary smart dog she is.  It has been rolling around in my head for a little while that I just might not have the dedication and patience to get her past her reactive behaviors enough to ever have a successful agility dog.  The fact that she is absolutely a spectacular agility dog when she is in a location where she can focus totally on me doesn't do us much good when we can't trial in those locations.  Additionally, she has proven to me that I cannot even train her in a class setting.  So I guess what I've been considering is sort of throwing in the towel with trialing for good.  That seems so brash and like such a cop out and such a lame thing for me to do I can't quite think through the issue.  Dare appears to be so young but she will be 6 years old in four short months.  Now that is not at all old in my book but it is old considering we have no teamwork together and there doesn't seem to be much hope that she will just 'grow out of it.'  I think either I commit to a ton of work with some extreme behavior modification or I give it up.  I just hate admitting that I might not have the stuff to pull this off but then again is there anything wrong with that?

This also brings to mind that Brag is 8 1/2 years old and I hope to run him for a good many years yet, but if I do decide not to pursue trialing with Dare I could find myself without a dog to trial if I don't think about getting a puppy in the near future.  I feel sooooo not ready for a puppy in my life though.  The 2 dog thing is absolutely wonderful and they get along well and fit in my vehicles and so on.  A very big part of me doesn't want to bring a puppy into our life until Brag is retired.  I don't think I'm alone in the thought that I 'want to do it right' with my next puppy.  With Brag I had no clue what I was doing and with Dare she wasn't 'mine' until she was over a year old I believe.  I also had no idea what I was dealing with when she first started her reactive behavior.  I thought it was cute how excited she got by Border Collies!  Never again will I be that stupid again but past is past and I can't dwell on should haves.

Arg I've gone off on a tangent when all I wanted to say is how much fun I had playing with my dogs today and I hope we do it again very soon!

Pioneers of the Icy Tundra - Tales of Snownami 2011

I've now come to grips with yesterday morning enough to bring it out of my buried unconscious:  Stupidest decision of 2010 has to be deciding to drive my little car to work yesterday since I was too lazy to pull Jeep out of garage Friday night and thought since I was getting home around 11a I'd be okay.  Mmmm....not so much.  Got stuck at work trying to leave but that was fun because 3 of my male co-workers just pushed and away I went.  Drive home I saw lots of stuck people but I chose my paths wisely.  Found that my house was inside a snow oasis that was nearly impossible to penetrate.  Drove around for a while getting stuck here and there until I found a side street that would get to my alley.  Get into the far end of my alley and we are stuck.  Run down entire alley to get my shovel and luckily halfway down someone offers me a shovel and snow blows a little for me.  I got about 1/4 of the way down right away and then we were just done...no more movement.  My little car was acting as a shovel that would push snow in front of it until it was immobile.  I get out, shovel for 5 minutes or so and then move a couple of inches and repeat.  This continues for about an hour and a half and my hair is iced and frozen to my head and my arms and back are screaming from shoveling and I can no longer feel my legs and I'm on the verge of a nervous breakdown when 3 saviors come out and push me.  After that it only took about 45 minutes to get down the rest of the alley and into my garage.  My thighs were beet red for over an hour.  I made my heroes some cookies but unfortunately they sucked.  Hopefully it is the thought that counts.  On the bright side, as soon as I showered and got warm I took off again in my most wonderfulest Jeep and had a very enjoyable and productive day of shopping.  I got most of my Christmas shopping done as well as stocked up on groceries.  Only problem was trying to get home because there weren't any highway exits that weren't full of stuck cars and people trying to dig themselves out. 

Then came the moment that all Jeep's dream of...a seemingly impenetrable barrier of snow at the front of our parking spot.  An evil plow beast apparently visited the alley while we were away.  I knew if we didn't get in that I'd have to navigate the complex and dizzying rules of Minneapolis snow emergency law.  That is clearly above my capabilities.  The wall of hard, frozen snow was mid thigh level - much, much higher than my Jeep's wheels.  I spoke with Jeep and told him that all those previous winters were just training for this moment.  There was no room for error and no opportunity to take a run at it.  We had to hit it sideways or die trying.  This was to be our defining moment.  I apologized and confessed how wrong I was for ever trying to sell my brave and precious Jeep.  After figuring out how to get into 4 "low" we girded our loins, took a deep breath and hit the gas.  We smash through the concrete snow wall and spun the tires to get traction and plow into our spot sort of sideways and then breathe a sigh of relief.  We are good and stuck for the first time in Jeep history but that was tomorrow's issue.  For tonight we were safe and sound in our own driveway.

Meanwhile, little blue sits nestled in the garage to slumber until the April thaw.  She was a valiant little car for taking us to and from southern CA safely and getting us out of the Colorado Rockies in a snow storm and now she can take a much needed break until warmer times. 

What a Difference a Day (Or Maybe a Border Collie?) Makes...

Dare...Dare loves Border Collies...Dare loves Border Collies so much that she loses her mind in their presence...Dare especially loses her mind when there are Border Collies running immediately before her!

I thought we were making some really good progress towards knocking down her BC obsession to a manageable level.  That is until yesterday when we followed my friend Shelley and her cute little BC, "Mesa" in Jumpers and this happened:

However, today I had a nice buffer with "Tori" who is my friend Kris's adorable Berner.  Yeah - Dare has a brain again!!  It was really an outstanding run for her and she did all her weaves - yes!  She still had her head a little too much in the clouds to come to the correct end of the tunnel or respond very crisply to my F/C and therefore missed a few jumps on the way out but pretty good progress for one day don't you think?!?!

The frustration of setbacks and the art of recovery

I never realized until recently that handling setbacks is one of the trickiest and most important things you can learn on a personal health journey.  Relatively speaking, getting into the habit of daily workouts and eating well is easy, and it isn't until you hit a bump in the road that you realize you have a lot of learning to do.  When I hurt my back over two weeks ago (one of the many, many times I have been sidelined due to my degenerated disc issues), I had become borderline obsessive about getting out every day to jog and really enjoyed my weekly torturous personal training sessions.

Now it is hard to know what to do with myself.  My back can't hold up to anything very vigorous and jogging seems to make it tighter and more sore even with lots of cool down stretching.  But the problem is that taking walks when you are accustomed to running seems soooooo boring and takes way too long!  It is one thing if it is a beautiful Sunday and you have nothing else to do but walk the parkway for 5 miles with the dogs but that is a rare occurence.  I swear I can feel fat settling in my stomach every day that I am not working out hard!  And eating less is just not an option.  I mean, come on.  It is candy season and I love candy and even though I have none in my own house, co-workers bring it in daily to share in the office and there is no chance I'm going to walk by the delicious tootsie rolls and laffy taffy and cute mini little butter fingers and not gobble them up!

Realistically, I've really only gained maybe a couple pounds and I'm sure it will come off fast as soon as I am back in my usual routine but I can't seem to get back to that normalcy.  Each day I think my back is maybe getting better it goes back to being sore again.  What is worse is that it makes me so paranoid and cautious I don't know when it is okay to push it a little bit and when I have to baby it so I end up babying it all the time.  Last night I returned to personal training after having two weeks off and it was frustratingly hard.  I can't believe that after such a short time I backslid so much in my condition and endurance.

Now, that I've vented, I suppose it is time to start looking at the bright side.  At least I know I will eventually return to "normal" and I'm not permenently injured.  All in all, my back has been so much better since I've gotten in good shape and it has "gone out" less and less.  The dogs really love our walks since I allow them a little more slack, lots more leash and they get to sniff to their hearts content (that is until they reach the end of their 16 foot line - that is our rule!).  When we jog it is much more regimented and they must keep a steady pace and not dawdle.  Also, I'm hoping that because I'm having back trouble now, I will be a-ok by the time we leave for Long Beach to the AKC Agility Invitational in a few weeks -- Brag is #1 in his breed and I don't want to be slowed down by pain!  Finally, I think the best news is that I haven't thrown in the towel and hibernated on the couch like I've wanted to.  Each night when I leave work I have a war of wills with myself over whether I'm going to take the dogs out for some exercise or whether I'm going to park it on the comfy couch for the evening and so far the "good" me has been victorious each night.  Here's hoping "good" Jen will prevail again tonight!

My dog, only older...

I think I caught a glimpse of what Brag will be in his "older" years a few days ago.  Being 8 1/2 years old isn't exactly a spring chicken I suppose but he still mostly behaves like a nutty youngster for sure.  The day after his surgery he was still slightly "off."  He was his usual happy self but his movements were maybe a little slower, slightly more careful and with less volatile force. 

When feeding Brag dinner he didn't jump quite as high to shove his head into his snood (I love when he does that) and didn't spin quite as quickly waiting for me to put his bowl down or hit it with the same intensity when I release him to eat. 

We took a walk Wednesday night as soon as I got home from work and it ended up being shorter than usual because Brag wasn't striding out as forcefully and made a point of hanging by my side for the duration.  I thought he might still be a little tired.  He's going to be a joyous old man though.  While he walked with me that night he kept looking up at me giving me the most adoring, endearing expressions.  Then I scratch his face which causes him to do his "dressage" happy trot/hop in perfect heal position (not that I've ever taught him to "heal" in obedience terms...Brag just thinks it is a super fun thing to do). 

I want to have these walks with Brag for a long time to come and not be cheated by death way too early.  Cancer stole Drina away from me when she was only a year older than her son is now...just shy of 10 years and so young in body.  When she got her first gray hair I'd worry about what I'd do with her when she became too old to run in agility trials.  I planned to do some tracking and maybe some tricks and lots of swimming and walks.  I worried she'd get jealous of the other dogs who would have to have more vigorous exercise than she would and how I would ever leave her behind if there wasn't room to kennel an unentered dog at a trial.  As it turned out, those concerns were for nothing. 

Maybe because I did see a little different side of Brag earlier this week or maybe because he has hit that age where any new lump/bump is panic-inducing or maybe because my friend's dog that is exactly his same age will most likely be dead very soon to stomach cancer (despite the fact that she still feels herself) has me thinking morbid thoughts.  I can't hold onto these worries too long however because they prevent me from doing the only thing I, or anyone can do -- enjoy and love your dog each day.

     

Can't hardly wait!!!!!!!

I received the most awesome package in the mail today - proofs from our recent photo session with Mary Ludington.  There are so many gorgeous shots I have no idea how we are ever going to choose just a few...20 pages of proofs!!!!!

Can't wait to post the new pictures but in the meantime, here is an oldie but goody of Drina photographed by Mary Ludington...

Poor, hungry Brag...

Is there anything worse than a totally wonked out, drugged out and strung out dog that is starving?  Poor Braggie is still a little off from being knocked out at the vet today for some various stuff (all pretty routine hopefully).  Unfortunately he is HUNGRY but isn't allowed to eat until tomorrow morning.  This leads to groggy stumbling, drunken weaving around the house searching for a scrap of anything.  He did score a crumpled up paper towel from the bathroom which is his favorite treat.

At the moment he is comatose on the couch with me but the hunger can strike at any time!

Fargo course thoughts

Probably because I was out of town by myself last weekend I put a lot more thought into the courses than I usually would.  I thought Lavonda Herring put up some very nice courses that had challenges and I don't remember thinking that anything was unsafe which I always appreciate. If I were to find anything to complain about, it might be that it seemed we did a lot of figure 8s which are fine but slightly ho hum...here are some highlights.

**Friday Standard had a tricky start for a dog without a stay.  When I looked at the course map before walking I assumed I'd do a boomerang start and put a f/c on the landing side of #3. The option walked really icky so against my better judgement I decided to go for the f/c between #2 and #3.  All the small dogs made it look easy (not a good gauge for future info!) and I wasn't sure if Brag would be okay with me rear crossing the dogwalk if I just did a serp start (rear crossing contacts is definitely something we need to be working on!).  Well, at the start I set up an extreme boomerang and motored up to get into f/c position...well guess what?  Braggie is exploding out of the chute and about to take jump #2 and I'm nowhere near my spot...ABORT!  In the end I did end up serping the beginning and slipping behind the dogwalk - which was FINE and I need to have a little more faith in his abilities.  Next area of concern is line from #10 to #12 teeter.  Unbelievably to me, many of the small dogs were heading to the weaves and some even engaged the first few poles!  Seriously??  You can't keep your tiny little dog out of those weaves??  I think that was Brag's prettiest part of the course as we somehow lucked out and he sliced #11 beautifully heading directly onto the teeter.  Awesome!  The end of the course was a little bizarre.  The line from #17 to #19 weaves was pretty goofy with handlers finding themselves wanting to hurdle the table.  The other weirdo thing was you found yourself pushing, pulling, pushing pulling all the way to the weaves and I was concerned Brag would be eyeing the teeter instead of the weaves.  Again, need to chill because he found his weaves all by himself with me standing and watching like a moron...time to move!  So, pretty fun course and Bragger got a 2nd place.

**Jumpers Friday was pretty basic and some dogs suckered into the wrong end of the tunnel in the corner (ummm....like Dare).  It was a fun course to handle really aggressively and push for front crosses.  Braggie got his 4th Double Q towards MACH 2 and a 1st place.

**Jumpers Saturday reinforced some things I've already concluded about my handling with Brag.  Hesitation is death.  I've got to drive, drive, drive!  I failed to heed my own advice from #10 to #12.  It didn't really matter if I did a f/c after #10 or if I handled it as a serp and rear crossed #12.  What mattered is that I didn't just "float" down the line as my friend Cheryl would say.  Of course, anytime I don't drive the course, Brag doesn't know where he is going and had to make a decision.  From my lack of direction he thought #14 was maybe the next obstacle after #10 and I had to call him loudly and then he knocked #11 as a result.  Arg! 



**Saturday Standard was a hot mess of a course!  Definitely the worst butchered run of the weekend I'd say.  Looking at the map, doesn't it look fairly innocuous?  Wow - we got through it but I was definitely breathing hard and sweating.  It started easily.  Of course some dogs took the tunnel after the ramp (ahem...Dare again) but Brag had no issue and we layered the tunnel and dogwalk which made it pretty smooth I thought.  This is when things get dicey.  We have to go right to the table after the dogwalk and I think going to tables after contacts is tough for my dogs - never sure how much gas to give them and usually end up with too much acceleration making them work way too hard to stay on the table.  Then we have to deal with our reoccuring issue of not wanting to take a position on the table which seems to have only gotten worse with the new rule (still love the rule though!) and so instead of leading out to my best strategic spot, I'm at the table having an argument with Brag almost the entire 5 seconds.  My original plan was to send Brag out to the tire while I put a f/c in at takeoff of #11 and then rear cross chute to the weaves.  Well...our little table disagreement make that impossible so I had to do a sort of delayed reaction serp and then turn him into the chute which of course made for the wrong lead exiting the chute and it was just ugly.  However, the spin was way far from the weaves so we are still clean.  I was really worried about getting the wrong end of the tunnel after the weaves because he has been popping out when I move too far ahead so I can't do much to drive to the correct end.  I contemplated running way out after weaves for deep front cross before jump and then tunnel but I thought I wouldn't be able to pull it off.  Imagine my surprise when I did it and it worked - awesome!  As I was thinking about what I just did I forgot to indicate the teeter and we got a pretty crappy entrance but still legal.  Then to the finish, the trickiest line of the course.  I wanted to f/c at the end of the teeter because I didn't trust that I could run fast enough to show him the correct end of the tunnel instead of the #2 off course jump.  However, too shallow of a front cross meant certain death because it was a big push to the next jump.  Okay, he stops on the teeter perfectly, here is my opportunity to get the perfect f/c...I'm running, I'm turning...ahhh!  I'm in the wrong spot and I've already released him.  I'll never get the push to #17!  "OOOUUUUTTTTTTTTT"  Whoa, good dog we got it and #18!  Ahhhh....now he is about to speed past the tunnel entrance into no man's land!  "COME!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  Smart dog turns on a dime and grabs tunnel!  I've got the best boy!!!

And, finally Sunday rolls around.  I hate Sundays...knowing you have to hurry and pack it all in the car only to return back to a dreaded job - blech.  However, this particular Sunday gave me more reasons to hate it.  Okay, so I've got a bad back.  One of the disks is degenerated or in my book, just plain bad news.  But, my back has been so much better lately and I've been working really hard to strengthen my core and I am very regimented about my little stretching routine every day but that morning, I got out of bed, bent over to tie my shoe or something stupid and ow...I know I'm done.  I stretched anyway as much as I could even though I was so locked up it was sort of futile.  Immediately took a vicodin since I was going into the equivalent of war on my back that day:  Packing up all the kennels and other crap and loading in the car and then driving 4 hours home.  Not good treatment for an injured back!  Anyway, checked out of hotel and hobbled along my way thinking a smarter person would just go home immediately.  I'm not smart though, just stubborn!  I hobble around the standard course walkthrough thinking I definitely shouldn't run Dare.  She is a challenge to run and I have to go very fast and she doesn't have as many distance skills as Brag.  Well, the distance is no problem but the coming back to me is the larger issue there (obviously I ran her anyway :))  Anyhoo, I walk the course for Brag and I'm planning a monster layer of the chute while he goes and does the dogwalk (good thing we practiced yesterday!).  I'm feeling a little "mavericky" about that move!  The rest of the course also seems like it is designed for someone like me with limited mobility.  Planned a couple f/c's after the tire as well as before #13 jump on the way to the table but then no more side changes!  And, just as I planned, Brag got his layer perfectly which saved me tons of steps and the rest of the course was sort of easy breezy and another 1st for him.  Thanks to the judge for saving the easy-going course for when I needed it!  :)

Now all I need to do is get through jumpers and by the looks of it on paper, not too complex.  Well...I should never, ever think that to myself.  For some strange reason during the walkthrough, I just kept having this terrible premonition that I'd pull Brag off #3.  Not sure why I was so certain.  That is such an easy send out for him and something we do ALL THE TIME.  Now, when you are worried something will go wrong, don't you think it would be smart of take it seriously and do something to prevent it?  No, I just thought I was being silly and of course he would get #3.  Guess what?  I pulled him off #3 - aaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!  I guess in order to make me feel better about myself, Brag took down jump #13 - really smashed it...stantion and all.  Well, I didn't tell him but that was totally my fault too as I put my f/c in a stupid position and he couldn't even see the dang jump until he was practically on top of it.  Okay, so no double Q but I let myself off the hook.  The vicodin was taking it's toll on me mentally and making me sort of fuzzy and very tired.  I was totally locked up in the back by the afternoon and could barely move so I guess I did okay but still disappointing to lose a DQ on such a nice course!  On the plus side, my friend Barry showed me an awesome new stretch.  I lay on my back with my feet up and knees bent a little.  Then she sits on my feet and it gives you the most wonderful low back stretch.  Always learn new things when I screw myself up!

Back to the jumpers course.  Really the coolest thing about it was that it was my friend Kris's final double Q for her MACH with her Berner Kiva.  She sooooo deserved it and has worked so hard that I was ecstatic to be there for that.  Therefore, I will refrain from hating this course!  :)

Okay, so aside from a few atrophied disc issues, this was such a great weekend.  The dogs and I spent tons of time in the fields of the fairground retrieving their bumper and I got to work out in the cheesy little hotel gym and then in the evenings the dogs and I would snuggle up and watch very important cable shows like Storm Chasers and Animal Planet's Fatal Attraction!  Bragger had a great weekend with perfect standard runs, a double Q on Friday, 4Q's and 3 of them 1sts and more points than we've ever gotten before and Dare had such a fabulous weekend (no Qs) that I'll talk about another time because this has to be the longest blog ever!!

Conditioned dogs are bad news...

What is really the point of having dogs that are in excellent condition?  Do we really want them to have endurance?  Doesn't it really just lead to human torture and punishment?  Today for example:  The dogs and I took a 5.5 mile walk and I think Dare must have gotten at least 10 miles out of it as she ran loops around us on her flexi searching for squirrels.  I was sort of thinking that could be it for the day but an hour and a half later they are whining at me wanting to know what else is on the agenda!  Guess what?  No more exercise for dogs - I'm boycotting fitness for canines!!

Okay, not really but it is fun to threaten them...they don't look scared.

Check out our new digs!!!!

Our introduction will be coming soon!!!!!!