Tables, dumbbells & wobble boards

Swing's weekend was spent doing what she does best, jet-setting all over the central part of the state socializing with family and friends.  This gal loves to hop in the van and hit the road and lucky for her, I'm happy to oblige!  It all started with a visit to our friend Sallie to help her get her "dog van" all set up.  Swing had a blast jumping in and out of the vans while we pulled seats out, laid carpet, adjusted pads/carpet, set platforms, wiped down insides, etc.  Sallie's van was a "new" set up which means we had to see if the carpet would fit (which meant cutting it at various places so that it would lay correctly) and then place the platform at the correct place to accommodate the crates before putting the appropriate padding on the crate corners.  As you can see, the set up turned out quite nice and Gracie seems to approve.

 

Our van had a major cleaning and rearranging performed on it which was sorely needed!  Everything was pulled out, vacuumed, wiped down and then put back in to it.  I should have taken a shot of all of the junk that came out of it but alas, we were more interested in getting everything back in (I'll post a picture of the van all decked out for a show weekend, it's amazing the way some of us outfit our vehicles)!  Swing parked herself on the platform while the crate pads were being cleaned, a great place to observe the activities.  Of course she was not amused at how long it was taking to put the van in order!

We had every intention of doing some training that day but getting the vans decked out seemed to be a good reason to sacrifice training time.

Next on the agenda, a play date with brother Hank.  Howard picked up Swing while I had lunch with an old friend and did some shopping.  After a couple of hours of assisting in the wood shop, playing with Hank and then going for a neighborhood walk (these puppies make their rounds from what I'm told), we finally got some training time in on the new wobble boards that Howard built.

 Swing (red) and Hank (blue) trying to outdo each other

Swing waiting for her reward for standing on the wobble board

Howard realized that the boards are not "wobbly" enough for these two growing youngsters, so he will be replacing the "peg" that is under the board with something more substantial.  For those that are wondering what a wobble board is, it is a training tool that is used to get the dog use to having something move under their feet in preparation for the teeter obstacle in agility.  I believe it also teaches foot awareness and builds balance and confidence.  If your dog can handle something moving under them then they should take to the teeter very easily.

And since we know that Hank loves to carry things in his mouth, I pulled a dumbbell out of my training bag to see what he would do with it.  He grabbed it from me and took off like a bandit as seen in this shot -

And he really enjoyed playing keep away with his sister -

Look at that nice hold he's got on the dumbbell, good boy!

While I really didn't want him chewing on the dumbbell, this shot was just too cute to let go by.  I did take it from him before he got too crazy with the chewing.

The next step that I would take with him would be to put the dumbbell on a string and let him chase it and pick it up properly.  Having it on a string will let you control how far he can go with it, encourage him to hold it firmly as well as bring it to you (if he doesn't then you can just reel him in!).  Swing isn't as gung ho to grab items like this but that will change when I pull out the clicker (which I started this evening) and work on it that way.


Handling class begins on Thursday and we are looking forward to meeting some new dogs and begin learning how to free stack and show.  Not only does this girl have to have the brains and work ethic for the performance events, she's got to learn to turn on the flair and charm for the conformation ring.  If she takes to it as easily as the other things then I feel that the skies the limit for this gal.  We'll report on handling later this week.  Until then...