More bird work shots

A few more shots of Dodge working the birds.  In these shots you can see that he was starting to slow up and actually stop on his own versus running in on the remote launcher. 

He was creeping up on the last bird in these shots and as you can see the check cord was not as tight as it had been.  Perhaps, with a few more sessions, he will learn to curb his enthusiasm and really start to work his way in.  While I have no aspirations of working him in the field at this time, it is something that I'd like to see if he can do and it is a nice distraction from obedience (which is what we have been SLOWLY working on).

Gracie Dot surfaces!

Gracie Dot, our little spitfire sister, reports in from St. Louis.  Here is what her owner Deb tells us about the little pip-squeak...

Our little Gracie Dot is doing great!  She's quite the acrobat -- I've never seen so many somersaults and flips.  We've socialized her quite a bit by taking her with us to outdoor restaurants and hardware stores....she gets a lot of attention.  I haven't exposed her to many dogs (other than my sister's Portuguese Water Dog) since she still needs her shots (next one is scheduled on Monday). 

 

Eric has been working with Gracie on sit, stay, and come. We plan to meet with a trainer soon to make sure we get the right program for Gracie and look forward to her progress (and ours).  Everyone who meets Gracie falls in love with her immediately!  Here are a few pictures of our baby girl.

 

 GraytSky N Sweethaven All That Jazz

It's obvious to us that she isn't that little anymore and she's quite the princess.  Thanks a lot for sharing the pictures with us Deb.  We look forward to hearing more from our midwest girl!  And good luck to Eric with training little miss personality plus.

Puppy agility, birds and Irene

On Friday evening Swing and Hank participated in a puppy workshop that was geared towards agility, but you could use any of the exercises as groundwork for any activity that you want.  We had three areas that the puppies worked through, one area concentrated on flatwork (recalls, having the puppy "check in" and learning to wrap around a cone in preparation for tight turns around jump standards); the next was the jump area where the puppies first came to your hand while your body was facing forward, and then you put your body sideways and had them come in and then do a turn.  The jumps were then added as you can see in this picture...

Hank doing the bump jumps

The third area had all kinds of gizmos for our puppies to work on balancing and body/feet awareness.  We used FitPAWS balance discs, wobble boards, FitPAWS peanuts and planks.  Since Swing has been introduced to the balance disc she took to all of the obstacles very well.  We spent about 45 min in each area with a break for puppies and handlers.

Coming to the handlers side

My little point and shoot digital isn't the best for movement shots but I did get this video of Hank working the jump, which was suppose to help him learn to push off of his rear while jumping but also an exercise to help the handlers see which direction our puppy was most comfortable with.

I wasn't sure that our little guys (12 weeks old on Sunday) would last the entire 3 hours, but they were troopers and made it to the end.  They even had enough energy to do some rough-housing before we headed home.  Thanks go out to Judy, Deb and Cathy from Dauphin Dog Training Club for putting on the workshop.

On Saturday Swing and I met a friend to introduce her to birds.  She wasn't as keen about the pigeon at first, it fluttered and moved too much for her so we brought out a pheasant wing and within seconds she was running around with it before deciding that she'd like to pull the feathers out.  Once she was super in to the wing Jim taped it to the live bird and then she decided that it was interesting.  The pictures that follow show her investigating the bird and then doing a play bow thinking she could get the bird to play (and that bird was not interested in playing with a puppy!).

 First contact with the pigeon

Not sure what to think of that bird!

 Well maybe I'll take a sniff

How about a game of chase?

We came to the conclusion that she is just a bit young at the moment to expect much so I came home with a bag of wings and I'll pull one out once or twice a week to help her develop some prey drive.  And we'll share the wing with her brother who I am sure will grab it and take off the first chance he gets!

Dodge also had a go at working birds.  Jim was kind enough to pull out two remote launchers and a couple of homing pigeons for us to use.  Dodge was introduced to birds at 5 months and he's been in a bird field and run up on birds, what we wanted to do was teach him to find the bird, stop (or point or whatever) and wait for us to release it.  There was no doubt he has a nose (good grief he has his TD and is working on his TDX, he better have a nose!) and we came upon the first bird fast and I had to dig in my heels to hold him back from the launcher.

 Line is taught, he really wanted that bird!

I was able to loosen the line here, this was the fourth attempt

It was fun watching him work even if he was a bit confused when I had to pull him back off the launcher.  Maybe we'll explore adding bird work to our repertoire this fall.  After all, small game season is right around the corner!

Irene has come and gone and thankfully my family and friends fared well.  Central PA saw some rain and wind but nothing flooded in our area.  She did make the weekend interesting and hopefully all of the other M&M siblings are safe and sound.  Have fun with your puppies this week, Swing will be getting in to as much trouble as she can, but isn't that what being a puppy is all about?  :-)

Clicker fun

Swing has been introduced to the clicker and we've been playing with some shaping for the last week or so.  To build confidence, as well as body awareness, I have her stepping on a exercise disc (balance disc).  She figured out what I wanted rather quickly (of course Dodge had to show her what to do and now they fight over who can get their feet on it first) and now I've added a board and my goal was to get her to put her front feet on the disc and her back feet on the board.  As you can see from the video, she has mastered this rather quickly.

I will eventually increase the distance between the disc and the board to challenge her even more.  We actually only spent about 3 sessions with the balance disc and 2 with the board and each session has lasted no more than 5 minutes.  The cool thing about playing this game is that she continues to offer behaviors to get the click and the reward (as a matter of fact, this evenings session was started by her, she knocked the disc to the floor in front of me and slapped her paw on it with a "I'm ready to play" look.  Of course I had to oblige and take her up on the offer).  I'm also hoping that it is teaching her to continue to try to figure out the puzzle and thus laying the foundation for a dog that wants to work and enjoys the game of training.  I think shaping is great and interesting, it definitely has a place in my training regimen, and since I would like to do some things differently with Swing I've chosen to try this for some of the beginning work.  We'll see how far I go with it and what we get in to next, so stay tuned.

This week we are going to participate in a puppy workshop that is geared a little towards agility.  Hank will be attending as well and Swing and Hank may be the youngest ones there.  I will be sure to report on what we did at the workshop since I really do not know what to expect.  What I do know is that the M&M siblings will have a wonderful time, meet some new people and their puppies, and sleep very well afterward.

Pink puppy is now ELLA!

The last puppy from the M&M litter has headed home and Swing and I couldn't be happier.  Congrats to our friends Ann and Mark for taking Ella home with them.  She will join Dodge's brother Stanford so it really is an extension of our family.  We know that Ann will have loads of fun with Ella as I am having with Swing.  I can hardly wait to receive reports on how she is doing.  I understand Mark is the tracking person in the family while Ann's niche is agility as well as obedience.  Here is the shot of the family before they left on their trip home to NY.

Ann w/Ella, Mark and Stanford

Swing has had a busy day helping set up the agility training area at the clubhouse and then supervising the mat laying in the bldg.  She tested the club tunnel and made sure the humans had the mats spread out evenly and straight.  She even helped with the sweeping, indicating the spots that were missed or finding the stray hairballs.  After a good lunch and a nice nap she helped me clean the yard and get all of the trash together.  We took a break to play with the exercise disc (I'm using a clicker to shape her to put her feet on it which is great for balance but also it is preparing her for the movement of things like the teeter and dog walk) as well as a board that I want her to learn to put her back feet on (again, something for agility).  While I'm not a pure shaping/clicker trainer, it is fun to watch an 11 week old puppies wheels turn as they try to figure out what it is that you want them to do.  It is also a good exercise on focus and concentration which is a major thing for a puppy at this age.

This week we'll do some tracking on Tuesday and go to obedience class on Thursday to meet our trainer's new puppy.   I hope to post some more pictures later this week and perhaps have an update of how Ella is settling in.

Tracking and more fun

The M&M siblings hooked up with our friends today to do some tracking and enjoy some hard play with one another.  It was a good morning for tracking, foggy, pretty damp and a little cool until you had a 70lb freight train on the other end of the line, then it got a little warm.  We could have started a little earlier but chose to wait until mid morning to start.

First up was Dodge and a mini TDX track just to get him back in the groove after not tracking since the spring.  It was a decent effort on his part, he found the articles and finished fairly strong and more than a little wet!  We then moved on to the beginner dogs, all of which did very well for their first time out ever or in a while (two of them had been introduced to tracking before today).  We then did one more T dog and then it was time for the puppies.  It was sunny by then and a bit warmer which made it a bit more challenging for the pups.  Swing took a crack at it first and had some success.  She's not quite as intense as her brother so we'll work on article indication and drive for the glove between now and the next session.

  Here she is watching Jan as she puts the glove out

She waits while the track layer puts the glove out but finds them walking past her (to double lay the track) a bit distracting.  We ended up using a slipper with a squeaky in it to keep her attention looking forward, and the track layer stayed out just beyond the slipper to entice her to drive out to the article.

Hank was next and that boy has drive when it comes to finding his glove!  He is always carrying something in his mouth and a glove is a very cool thing in his opinion.  His first track required some encouragement but by track two and three he was going like gangbusters!

He finds the glove!

Both pups were sporting a harness this week, I went and got one since I didn't want them to get in the habit of pulling in to their collars.  Both of them took to the harness without a hitch.  We'll continue increasing the distance and double laying the tracks for these two for a couple more weeks since they are so young (11weeks on Sunday).

After all that work it was time to play and since both of them will eventually end up in the agility ring we introduced them to the tunnel.  With Dodge's help they were running through the tunnel in no time as evidenced by the following shots...

Dodge, Hank and Swing's tail

 Swing (Hank in back)

 Hank

Swing outside, Hank coming out of tunnel

As you can see, they did not have any issues with a damp tunnel that was extended out about 15 feet.

Thanks go out to our friend Carolyn and her husband Bill for allowing us to use their gorgeous farm.  We would not have had this opportunity today if it has not been for their generosity and hospitality!

Weekend recap

Swing had a great weekend hanging with some new and familiar friends.  Saturday she spent the day with Evan and his family.  Evan will be four this November and he loves to have puppies visit.  His mom told me that when I asked if they would be interested in watching Swing Evan called everyone and told them he was getting a new puppy!  Sure enough, he was standing right at the door when we arrived and within a matter of seconds he and Swing were off and playing.  She had a fun day with the Bardell clan.

On Sunday she hooked up with her brother Hank to hang out with him and Howard while Dodge and I participated in the ADS Judges Institute.  She helped supervise in Howard's shop, probably learned the names of all of the tools and kept Hank busy with lots of play.  Obviously they had a great time because when I arrived to pick her up in the afternoon this is the scene that I found...

What is the old saying?  A tired puppy is a good puppy?  We'll see Hank again on Tuesday when the big dogs get together for some agility training.  The puppies will do some more tracking and then play while we work.  Let's hope that the weather holds!

Busy weekend for little Miss Swing

It's going to be a busy weekend for Swing and I'm sure she will be one tired little girl when it is all said and done.  On Saturday Dodge and I are entered in obedience so she'll spend the day with some friends while we are at the show site.  I'm sure she will have a great time and I'll make sure I have pictures to share.  On Sunday she'll hang with brother Hank while Dodge and I participate in the ADSJ Advanced Institute.  More on that later.

Thursday night we squeezed in a short tracking session before the sun went down and while it ended on a good note I was reminded that puppies, especially 9 week olds, have a super short attention span when it comes to focusing on something in the distance.  We tried to have her looking forward to the glove when Carolyn walked back along the track but between her passing us and standing behind us and Dodge carrying on because he wanted to be out working, Swing just couldn't figure out that she had to go forward.  Well we solved that problem by having Carolyn walk straight out after dropping the glove and therefore keeping Swing's attention forward.  Once we did that she had two very nice 10+ feet tracks.

Today we did some obedience work, sit, come and drop.  It was a short 5 minute session but that seemed to be enough.  The rest of the day has been spent playing, eating, sleeping and being mischievous  Very healthy and normal stuff for an almost 10 week old.  All that is left before bed time is a quick grind of the toenails, something I'm sure she will be thrilled with!

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On a mission

Day 2 and 3 in our new homes

Swing and Beau (Hank) spent just over 24 hours apart before they were reunited at training Tuesday evening.  A group of us get together for agility training and of course the pups were along for socialization as well as starting their tracking training.  We met at the farm just before 6pm to give us time to get the pups out, meet Bill and Carolyn (the owners of the farm) and then with Carolyn's assistance we started both pups.

Tracking with a puppy, even as early as a 9 week old, is meant to be fun and short.  We don't worry about a harness the first couple of sessions, we just want the puppy to run out to the glove.  So we let both puppies play with the glove (I like to see them grab it and tug a little) and then Carolyn (our track layer/helper) teased them with the glove while we held them back.  The puppy should watch the helper as they walk 5 steps away from them (in a straight line preferably), waves the glove and calls their name, then drops the glove and walks back on the same path (you double lay the first couple of sessions).  Once your helper walks past you it is time to release the puppy towards the glove.  If they've paid attention (hard for a youngster) they will begin to move forward to which you follow.  When they reach the glove you make a big deal of it, treat them and play and then you take the glove and start again.  Here is a video of Hank doing one of his short tracks (10 steps I believe)...

As you can see, Hank watches Carolyn when she passes and tries to go to her but Howard encourages him to find his glove.  When he goes the boy goes!  He shows a ton of promise and will probably pick up this sport quite easily.  Swing did well too, she has a nose on her but doesn't pick up and carry things like her brother does (we are working on that).  I look forward to our next session next week and hopefully in another couple of weeks we'll fit them with harnesses to get them use to the feel of that.

Today I took the opportunity to start playing with the clicker and doing a little shaping.  I started with Swing reacting to her name and within 2 minutes I had her turning her head and coming to me when I said it.  Next I pulled out a new bed that I had bought to see if I could shape her to get in it.  When she showed interest in the bed (put her nose to it) I clicked, gave a verbal "yes" and then gave her a treat.  By the third try she had her front feet in the bed and by the fourth she was all the way in.  Here are a couple of shots showing her progression...

You want me in here?

Ok, I'm in!  Click/Treat!

Am I too cute or what?!!!

I think I'll use that bed to work on a variety of things.  She seemed to like the fact that she can burrow down in it, I'll upload shots of her rolling around in another post.

We'll take a quick trip to the training bldg tonight to pick up the xpen.  I'm sure the Sportsmen will be there shooting at the clay shoot so she'll hear some gunfire.  After the big bang from the lightning strike up behind the house Monday night I doubt she will be phased by any of it.

The M&M litter is leaving the nest

The puppies from the M&M litter are heading to their new homes with two of them already settled in with their new families.  Hank's brother will be known as Milo (GraytSky N Sweethaven Andouille Do As We Please) and will reside in Maryland while his little sister, nicknamed Gracie-Dot (GraytSky N Sweethaven All That Jazz), will be in St. Louis.  Hopefully we'll have some pictures to post in the near future along with their registered names.  Swing and brother Hank will be leaving on Monday the 8th leaving Pink girl to hang out with the GraytSky crew until she finds a new home.  Here is a shot of her...

Miss Pink collar at 8 weeks

Swing's housemate

When Swing joins the household she will have two boys to hang with.  One is an older rescue named Dirk who is happiest when there is a comfy couch or sunbeam (preferably both at the same time) to lounge in/on.  The other is my current performance dog (and her future suitor...) and best buddy Dodge.  As I reported in a previous post, Dodge just finished two agility titles and we are now concentrating on obedience.  We've had a few decent Open A runs but no legs yet (I'll explain that in a second).  Most of the hiccups we have had were green dog issues as well as how I prepare him to enter the ring.  I am fortunate in that Dodge enjoys being in the show ring, we just need to work on keeping his focus and energy up for an entire test.  And of course there are the out of sight sit and down stays and the confusion and uncertainty of them.  But he is coming along and hopefully we will both have our acts together for the next trial (we will have to concentrate extra hard in training once Swing arrives!).

When Dodge is on he is a dream to show.  Here is a lovely shot taken by Terri Borman at the Weim Nationals back in May.

Yes, he can heel with lovely attention!  He's a joy to train and show and I think that once we get in the groove we'll earn those legs for that Open title.  Then it is on to Utility!

Open is the second level in obedience, Novice being the first level.  In Open the dog heels off leash, does a drop on the recall, retrieves a dumbbell on the flat and over a jump and jumps across your body over the broad jump.  The stays are done out of sight (handlers leave the ring).  There is a huge jump from Novice to Open and the drop on recall and stays tend to be the hardest exercises for the dogs to master.  You can read all about the class levels at AKC's website.

Swing's bro, Beau (aka "Hank")

Here is Swing's brother who will be located about an hour from us.  We are lucky to train with his owner on a regular basis, so the siblings will get to see a lot of each other over the next few months.  Good thing too, I'm sure Howard and I will welcome having them entertain each other while we are working the big dogs.  Ah, you may be wondering about the "aka" part.  Well during one visit, when he didn't have his official call name, I picked him up and said "you remind me of a Hank".  We all laughed about it until I was reminded that Hank Williams Sr. sang a song called "Jambalaya" which is part of the pups registered name!  So while he is officially Beau, I'll just have to continue to call him Hank (sorry Howard).

 GraytSky n Sweethavn Jambalaya

And here is his 8 week picture. Hank's main focus will be agility but he will also work on tracking and conformation.

Coming home soon!

It's almost time for the new addition to join the household.  "Swing", red girl from the M&M litter, will be coming home on August 8th.  She'll be joining Dodge, my current show dog, and Dirk the pampered rescue.  We have big plans for this young lady and I know that my co-owners are looking forward to watching her grow and develop.

So I have a week to get things ready for her arrival.  I'm on the lookout for a Graco playpen to keep her in while I'm getting ready for work and it's time to go through the toy box to see what toys need to be "retired".  I also need to set up a place for her to have her meals as the boys share a raised double diner right now.  I think I have some house cleaning to do this week!

Here is her 8 week picture...

GraytSky n Sweethavn Bayou Boogaloo

And her brother will be nearby so we'll get to visit with him on an almost weekly basis.  And while I love starting a new puppy I oh so dread the early weeks of constantly running them outside and supervising their every waking minute.  But in the end it is all worth it when you have a nice, well adjusted adult.