Today we brough Shasta in to have be spayed, have her stomach tacked and have xrays done on her hips and elbows. Quite a day at the vet. And they all turned out as well as we could hope. Yes!
Hips and elbows both looked very good to Dr. Jim Winsor. And growth plates are extremely close to closed. Which means once she is done recovering from the spay we can start jumping and weaving! There were certainly no indications of any troubles with her joints but it's a relief to get the official news (and Dr. Winsor is official for us).
As for the spay and the stomach tack, she is home and in our care tonight. Very groggy of course. I am sure she is uncomfortable as well. But she is resting well and has already managed to pee and poop.
What a relief.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Her "First" Invitational and Beach
We just returned two days ago from our trip to the Florida panhandle coast and the agility Invitational in Orlando. It started with three wonderful days in a beach house near Cape St. Joe with the Larsons. It was very dog friendly and nearly private. We took a lot of walks along the beach with the dogs, most of it off leash. I couldn't get Shasta interested in the water. I did many "test/reinforce" recalls and felt very comfortable having her off leash. She really enjoyed playing and chasing with mostly Tori but with the rotties some too. It was nice to have a young dog I could trust and we had a great time with all the beach walks.
Then there were the exhausting days at the invitational. Long, long, long walks from the hotel to the show site and back. She didn't get much attention but I did walk her around the rings a couple of times, doing my "acclimation walk". She handled those walks around the ring really well. She was focused doing her tricks and seemed happy and comfortable walking around in that environment with lots of energy, noise and stress.
One thing I did notice was that Shasta seemed a little more independent in the shared beach house. Not sure why but she didn't hang around me as close as she does at home. I can't determine if that was a bad, good or neutral thing as far as performance goes but I didn't like it because I missed having her close by.
Then there was the spongy Florida grass, especially the grass at the hotel that was incredibly thick. And spongy. And Shasta wanted NOTHING to do with it. She jumped straight up in the air the first time she walked on it, about two feet! Pottying was an adventure all three days. We hard many stories of other dogs having the same issue but it's hard to imagine many had the same level of hatred toward that grass!
Then there were the exhausting days at the invitational. Long, long, long walks from the hotel to the show site and back. She didn't get much attention but I did walk her around the rings a couple of times, doing my "acclimation walk". She handled those walks around the ring really well. She was focused doing her tricks and seemed happy and comfortable walking around in that environment with lots of energy, noise and stress.
One thing I did notice was that Shasta seemed a little more independent in the shared beach house. Not sure why but she didn't hang around me as close as she does at home. I can't determine if that was a bad, good or neutral thing as far as performance goes but I didn't like it because I missed having her close by.
Then there was the spongy Florida grass, especially the grass at the hotel that was incredibly thick. And spongy. And Shasta wanted NOTHING to do with it. She jumped straight up in the air the first time she walked on it, about two feet! Pottying was an adventure all three days. We hard many stories of other dogs having the same issue but it's hard to imagine many had the same level of hatred toward that grass!
Training - What's That Again?
Life. It gets in the way. There has sadly been very little of it. Unless bringing her along to dog shows counts as training. We did do another class or two, still skipping jumps, weaves and the dog walk. And she continued to do awesome at it. Still total focus, no sniffing in the dirt, no obstacles concerns. Solid and very motivating to see.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Managing Expectations
We can never know about the days to come
But we think about them anyway, yay
And I wonder if I'm really with you now
Or just chasin' after some finer day
Anticipation, anticipation
Is makin' me late
Is keepin' me waitin'
But we think about them anyway, yay
And I wonder if I'm really with you now
Or just chasin' after some finer day
Anticipation, anticipation
Is makin' me late
Is keepin' me waitin'
(Carly Simon - Anticipation)
I'm a little worried about having unrealistic and, frankly, unfair expectations of Shasta. Everything is going so well to this point. I am very impressed with her work ethic and her understanding of the concepts I've taught. I'm impressed with her attitude and her control. She is happy in working and training without being gleeful.
I can feel it, in my honest moments with myself, the expectations that are already building in my near-subconscious thoughts. I'm not speaking about titles or tournaments or accomplishments. But the building expectation that we won't have many struggles. That we won't have the usual struggles that even a great agility team usually have when they are young. I recognize and know that it's not fair to Shasta. I recognize and know that it's not fair to me. Yet it's not like it's something I can really control except to recognize it and hope that being honest with myself tempers it to some level.
I've always thought and often said, the key to an accomplished agility dog is to have a dog that keeps bars up, doesn't develop serious weave issues and doesn't have fear issues. If you have those three things you are 90% of the way "there" in agility. Yet, I haven't started jumping or weaving with Shasta yet. How irrational is it, then, to have building expectations at this early stage when I haven't even started to train two of the three things most likely to derail a "career"?
So, that's it. I've made a decision. I am not going to subconsciously have such high expectations. Yep, that's what I have decided. ;-)
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Shasta Is A Classy Dog
Last night I brought Shasta to our first class. She was --- awesome. It was an agility class, level 4. It was in our winter horse arena which has horses in it during the day. Shasta is a floor "snarfer" at times and I expected it to be a tough process to work through in the barn. But she didn't care about the dirt at all. No snarfing. I was surprised. Pleasantly surprised.
To her it was all new, the obstacles, the place, the other dogs, the waiting around . She handled it all brilliantly. She had no issues generalizing the obstacles, had no issues being distracted by the other dogs and had total focus on working with me and the sequences. Thrilling!
We did jumps at zero, didn't weave and didn't do the dog walk (we haven't done a tall one yet). Much like I recall doing with Roxy at this age. I can make up a lot of sequences while skipping those obstacles.
We did do two a-frames which I introduced to her last week in our back yard (did three of them in our back yard). She is doing the downside slowly but right now I like that because it is being really easy on her body. I now won't do any a-frames until we start jumping except for the one or two I do in class every once in a while. And if she speeds up too much I'll bypass them as well.
The school has an all-aluminum teeter which can vibrate differently and I expected her to struggle with it a few times. But she had no issues with that either. No issues with the doghouse chute. No issues with the level four sequences.
She ran about 75-80% of the time. Every so often she would slow down, seemingly a little tentative. Like I've said in this blog before, she more than most dogs, will be fast only when she is confident. Something about my cues made her question the path which slowed her down. Which does not bother me a bit, my cues will get better and better with time.
It was a great first class. Both exciting and a relief.
To her it was all new, the obstacles, the place, the other dogs, the waiting around . She handled it all brilliantly. She had no issues generalizing the obstacles, had no issues being distracted by the other dogs and had total focus on working with me and the sequences. Thrilling!
We did jumps at zero, didn't weave and didn't do the dog walk (we haven't done a tall one yet). Much like I recall doing with Roxy at this age. I can make up a lot of sequences while skipping those obstacles.
We did do two a-frames which I introduced to her last week in our back yard (did three of them in our back yard). She is doing the downside slowly but right now I like that because it is being really easy on her body. I now won't do any a-frames until we start jumping except for the one or two I do in class every once in a while. And if she speeds up too much I'll bypass them as well.
The school has an all-aluminum teeter which can vibrate differently and I expected her to struggle with it a few times. But she had no issues with that either. No issues with the doghouse chute. No issues with the level four sequences.
She ran about 75-80% of the time. Every so often she would slow down, seemingly a little tentative. Like I've said in this blog before, she more than most dogs, will be fast only when she is confident. Something about my cues made her question the path which slowed her down. Which does not bother me a bit, my cues will get better and better with time.
It was a great first class. Both exciting and a relief.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Crosses Groundwork
Life continues to interfere with our training recently. Disappointing when the temps are cooler and winter is approaching. But life is what life is.
Nothing new in our training of late. The little I've done has just been reminding Shasta of the things she already knows.
A week ago or so Kris did film a small piece of the crosses groundwork I am doing. It includes front crosses, a blind cross, a rear cross, a couple of rear crosses on the flat. And what I think is some pretty good lateral distance as well.
First sequence includes a Front cross, Blind cross, Rear on the Flat, Front and Front cross.
Second sequence has a Front cross and a standard Rear cross.
Third sequence is a Rear on the Flat and a Front cross.
I'm pleased with her speed and skills at this point. She does a great job of reading my body and the cues. Sequence-wise there already is not much that she can't do, in the comfy confines of our back yard.
Nothing new in our training of late. The little I've done has just been reminding Shasta of the things she already knows.
A week ago or so Kris did film a small piece of the crosses groundwork I am doing. It includes front crosses, a blind cross, a rear cross, a couple of rear crosses on the flat. And what I think is some pretty good lateral distance as well.
First sequence includes a Front cross, Blind cross, Rear on the Flat, Front and Front cross.
Second sequence has a Front cross and a standard Rear cross.
Third sequence is a Rear on the Flat and a Front cross.
I'm pleased with her speed and skills at this point. She does a great job of reading my body and the cues. Sequence-wise there already is not much that she can't do, in the comfy confines of our back yard.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
A Whole Lotta Nothing
It's been three weeks since I've posted anything and it's fitting because there has been a whole lotta nothing going on. Between three day show weekends, work, weather, mom and general malaise on my part, I have not done much training with her the last few weeks.
The one thing of progress is that I have moved Shasta on to the full height teeter. I had gone so slowly and incrementally with the puppy teeter, bringing it almost to the same height as the full size, I expected moving to the full size teeter to be no big deal. That was not quite right. It was not incremental to Shasta to go from a wood, sanded teeter to an aluminum, rubber teeter. I think the vibration was different for her.
Her first couple she got off as soon as it tipped. Then she refused going up. A teeny bit of gentle pressure got her back up the teeter but she didn't want to stay on it. It took about 10-12 tries over two nights before she finally was comfortable enough with it to stick the bottom. Now, it's all systems go.
Her dogwalk is now great, no apprehension at all. Somehow, my "break" command got more confusing during our lack of training. I have some work to do there.
The one thing of progress is that I have moved Shasta on to the full height teeter. I had gone so slowly and incrementally with the puppy teeter, bringing it almost to the same height as the full size, I expected moving to the full size teeter to be no big deal. That was not quite right. It was not incremental to Shasta to go from a wood, sanded teeter to an aluminum, rubber teeter. I think the vibration was different for her.
Her first couple she got off as soon as it tipped. Then she refused going up. A teeny bit of gentle pressure got her back up the teeter but she didn't want to stay on it. It took about 10-12 tries over two nights before she finally was comfortable enough with it to stick the bottom. Now, it's all systems go.
Her dogwalk is now great, no apprehension at all. Somehow, my "break" command got more confusing during our lack of training. I have some work to do there.
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