Busy busy busy!

It has been a busy couple of weeks for us! This past weekend (March 13-14) my parents came to town to visit and see Mesa, since I haven't been home since before I got her in January. And of course, along with them came Smoke (my mom's Swedish Vallhund) and Lacey (English Cocker Spaniel), so fair to say it was a packed house in my tiny apartment! The chaos started first thing Friday evening with Smoke, Dally, and Mesa ripping and racing all around the apartment playing with each other with big excitement. Yes....Dally was playing with Smoke!! My mom can see a big change in Dally's demeanor in the way she wants to actually play with Smoke...not completely ignore him. So, the puppy has been a good thing!

Saturday I ran in the Shamrock Shuffle 3K for my friend's 30th birthday in downtown Lexington (16.3!) and then had to work a hunter/jumper show in Frankfort, so mom and dad "puppy-sat" Mesa while Dally went to Lakeside with me. During that time, mom worked on teaching Mesa to sit up on her hind end (unfortunately she was teaching her with the same hand signals as I teach for a sit, so I'm trying to come up with a new hand signal for "sit up") and laying down. She was a little rock star for mom, but she was greatly missing her mom. She'd run from bedroom window to living room window every once in a while looking for me and wondering when I'd return. As mom said, she's definitely already my dog and is attached. This means time to work on separation...not fun.

Thankfully I didn't have to work on Sunday, so I got to spend the day with my parents, which meant going to IncrediPet to buy Mesa's new crate. All this time I've been borrowing a pink plastic pet carrier from Mesa's breeder, Debbie, as well as a bigger crate from an agility friend (wire, longer than Dally's). Mesa was sleeping in the pink crate and spending the day in the larger crate, but I was wanting to shrink the number of crates in my room from 3 to 2, as well as work more towards house breaking Mesa during the day. The new crate, which measures 18" wide, 19" tall, and 24" long (Dally's is 18x20x24), comes with a divider so you can change the size of the crate--perfect for crate training!! Mesa now sleeps comfortably in her new crate (I put a blanket over the sides at night) and has kept it clean the entire week! This even includes during the day! Yay! (I might have just jinxed us...)

Monday evening saw a trip to Jodi's where Mesa and Dally got to run around the backyard and all around the house while I baked cookies and vented about the tumultuous day I had at work. Jodi also finally finished her wobble-board that she was attempting to make for Maya, but instead put it out in the middle of the living room for Mesa to try out. Moving floor underneath?? Not a problem for a fearless Vallhund like Mesa!! She didn't give the fact that the board was tipping back and forth under her...there were treats being tossed on the board! Then, we brought out a kiddie tunnel (the kind you get at Toys R Us) and Mesa enjoyed following Dally through it, then proceeded to run thru and around the tunnel, jump on the wobble board...rinse, and repeat. So far, introducing her to agility has been fairly easy and painless. (Once again...jinx...)

Tuesday saw our first agility class of the year at Melanie's. I always enjoy taking classes at Mel's because most of the time it's our "Small Dog Posse" and we always know how to have a good time. After two good runs with Dally (after a few corrections on my end, of course), it was time to let the pups play. Mesa spent the next 10 straight minutes running in circles, chasing Rupp (Mel's Chi pup), running through tunnels, herding dogs through the weaves (she'd run on the outside of the weaves) and jumping 8-inch jumps. She also attempted to climb the A-frame until I ran up and put a stop to that. Thank goodness for a quiet night after that--exhaustion for a puppy is a good thing!

This weekend is the Louisville Cluster (a big AKC dog show with conformation, rally, obedience, and agility) and Dally is entered in Nov FAST (going for her title), Exc STD, Exc JWW on Saturday, and Exc STD and Exc JWW Sunday. Mesa's going, of course, but she has a full plate as well, as her breeder will be there with her daddy (Toby) and litter mate (Hannah). She'll have a Vallhund play date with her sister and I'll see if I get Debbie's seal of approval for my rearing of Mesa so far. I'll report back after the Cluster with many more tails, and probably more videos to share.

A weekend of firsts...

So this weekend was packed with lots of action for both girls. The warmer temperatures and sunshine meant it was time to finally get out of the apartment and get some fresh air!

Saturday saw a trip to Masterson Station Park where we went for a short walk and then met up with some of the Park's resident horses. LaMesa has yet to meet my horses back at my parents' farm, so this was her first experience with the four-hooved creatures. She was absolutely enamored by them! As always, she didn't show any fear when she just trotted under the fence and right up to each one that was currently munching away on their hay. Here's her video from that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwmpGR6DFcQ

After meeting the horses, we went to an open area and played tennis ball with the girls so they could stretch their legs and burn off some more energy.

Sunday, after another walk around the neighborhood (I've been trying to get in as many walks with the girls as I can--it's good for Mesa to see more different things, plus to work on her heeling, etc.), we made our first trek out to the agility field since this Fall. Well, this was Dally's first trip in five months, and Mesa's first-ever. Dally and I had Competition Prep class, but I brought Mesa out to, once again, get her out and about and meet all the other dogs. She was a trooper hanging out in Dally's wire crate. She spent the whole time watching all of the dogs go through the different courses and watch the comings and goings. She only whined/barked a few times, but was hushed when I'd yell out to her. After I worked with Dally for a while, I took her back to her stake with Porter (Dally's "best friend"--a Cardigan Welsh Corgi) and got Mesa out to work on a few things.

I hadn't been able to do much training with Mesa over the last week because I left my clicker in Jodi's car. I got it back Saturday, so I had the opportunity to use it Sunday. I started off with our basics--"sit," "spin," and then working more on "down." I got out a target and threw it out on the grass and even though we hadn't worked on target since the first time we did it a week ago, she went right to it to touch the target and come back to me for her treat after she heard the click! Yay!

Merinda and I decided to see if she'd go through a tunnel if we straightened out and scrunched it up. Merinda held Mesa on one end, while I laid down in front of the other end with the clicker and a treat. The first few times Mesa wasn't too sure how to get to me while I was calling her name, but she'd slowly go through the tunnel the first few times. Finally, after maybe four trips slowly through the tunnel, she ran right through when Merinda let her go, so we stopped there and she got lots of praise and love. Afterwards, I turned Dally loose so they could run around and play before heading home. Dally ran through the same tunnel (which was returned back to it's proper length and angled in a wide "U"), with Mesa running right after Dally and not even bulking! Yay!

I know many people say to take it slow with Mesa and introducing the different obstacles from the field, but I didn't think it'd hurt to introduce a short tunnel with positive results. I had wanted to walk her over the "baby dog walk" which is just the top of an old dog walk propped on cement blocks, but I had forgotten. Oh well...there's plenty of time for that. I just need to continue working on the basics and slowly introduce things to her.

I'm thinking of working both Dally and Mesa on Rally and get both of their Rally Novice titles this year. I talked with one friend whose Sheltie got her RN at 10 months and she said it was great foundation training for a puppy in preparation for agility. And I think the results speak for themselves--Bindi Sue got her MACH last year and I think she's only three! But, I need to find someone who will work with me on the basics, and then find some trials to enter later this summer.

Is that a...?? No.

So lately I've had the pleasure of trying to introduce the Swedish Vallhund to the non-AKC world. It's amazing the different types of dogs, or mixes, they think Mesa is. "Is that a German Shepherd puppy?" No. "Is that a Corgi?" No. "Is that her (as in Dally's) puppy?" No. "Is she a mutt?" Definitely NO.

It's especially hard when taking her to the veterinarian for her puppy shots. Apparently their office management system hasn't read the latest AKC Gazette to know that there is such a breed as the Swedish Vallhund. When I made her original appointment, they admitted that there was no selection for a "Swedish Vallhund" in their program...so they put her as a mutt. Now no offense to mix-breeds, but she'd be a rather expensive mutt. Today, for her second visit/last set of shots, it was discovered that she was inputted as a Corgi. Thankfully, the receptionist knew enough to know she wasn't a Corgi (anyone with any sense will see there is hardly any resemblance between her and Dally), but instead left her breed designation blank, rather than put "mutt." My sanity thanks you...

Another frustration is trying to learn more about the breed. When I got Dally, my family was able to buy me two really great books on the Pembroke Welsh Corgi which opened my eyes to the stubborn, too-intelligent darlings before I experienced her with all her "Corgi quirks" in person. These books are easy to find at your local PetsMart, Borders, etc. However, try looking up a book on Swedish Vallhunds, and you'll find the selection is nill. According to Mesa's breeder, there are such books...they just happen to be printed and sold in England and cost around $100 each. Yeah...umm, the last time I purchased a book for more than $20 was when I was college and those were required.

So I guess I'll keep browsing the different Vallhund sites (which aren't many) and hopefully I'll get to start talking to other Vallhund owners to learn more about this different breed. Like this blog is about....it's all a learning experience...

Educational agility blog

So, thanks to the wonderful world of Twitter (yes, I tweet--@MLArszman), I found an educational agility training blog that has recently started posting chapters from a clicker training book! I invite everyone to check out the Agility Nerd for some interesting exercises and notes on training for agility at any level. (http://agilitynerd.com/blog)

I've already downloaded the first chapter to Click and Play Agility: Clicker Training for Successful Dog Agility, by Angelica Steinker and saved it in Word. I'm going to wait for the next chapter to come out so I can read through both chapters at once to get a good idea and a good start on Mesa's clicker training. If anyone has read this entire book, please share with me any thoughts. I've been slowly looking for a book, but I don't want to purchase one online unless I can flip through it and see if I might like to read it. (I'm picky, what can I say?)

On another note, the other night when I was working the clicker with Mesa (we do it every other night, when I remember), Dally actually stayed just on the other side of the coffee table from us. I was happy to see her out and not quivering in the corner, so every few clicks I'd throw a treat out to her and praise her for being so brave.

Mesa's getting bigger! I had to loosen up her collar the other night. I'll try to post a new picture later.

Just a little advertisement

I just wanted to through in a little advertisement for my mom's Etsy store, AllWooledUp. She makes recycled, re-purposed purses/totes from Wool sweaters (some top-of-the-line sweaters like Abercrombie, Elizabeth Taylor, etc.) and uses felt to create designs. Everything is done by hand, from the cutting, design, lining, re-purposing purse handles, etc. She can even do custom work (she's made pillows featuring Dally's head, my cat's head, a friend's Cardigan Corgi, and a purse with a friend's Chihuahua) if you send photos.

She also has been making necklaces in various sizes and colors featuring glass, natural stone, and wood beads.

Anyway, please take a moment to check out her store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/allwooledup

She'll also be opening up another Etsy store featuring re-purposed/recycled dog toys. She'll custom finish a toy specifically for your dog. Does you dog like teddy bears that squeak? She can insert as many squeakies into a stuff teddy bear as you'd like. Does he like the crunch of a water bottle? Those can be inserted as well. It'll be called "Smokey Joe's Toy Box" (after her Swedish Vallhund) and I'll keep y'all updated with it's debut.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled program...

Riding shotgun...

The other day, Mesa took a step towards being a big girl by taking her first ride in the truck riding shotgun, and not in her pink crate (which was provided by her breeder as a stopgap until I can find a bigger wire crate like Dally's). On my lunch break, I loaded up Dally and Mesa into the truck and headed off to Mesa's first veterinarian appointment.

We're still a little shaky while riding shotgun (I put the consul up in the truck so the girls can share the bench seat with me), but after a while she relaxes and starts to enjoy herself. I'd like to think that Dally's whispering to her, "It's OK, kid, just enjoy the ride, it's fun! And when you get big enough, maybe she'll let you hang your head out the window like me," as she's standing up looking out the window.

Mesa's gained a pound, now weighing in at 8.5 pounds. I've continued with the clicker-loading with treats, meanwhile teaching her to "spin" (which I use to warm Dally up before our runs) and sit. She's so excited to get the treats, I don't think she really understands what she's doing, just that when I say something and she does it, she hears the click and gets a treat (at this time, a kernel of cat food). If that's what clicker training is all about, then...well...I guess I'm doing it right. I still need to do some research into finding the right book to read on this topic.

It's been a week...

It's been a week...a busy week...which explains why it's been a week since I last posted.

LaMesa is now 12 weeks old and will go for her 12-week shots tomorrow at Gainesway Animal Hospital. In the past week Dally has accepted the puppy into the fold. We finally had playtime with eachother this past Friday. I was excited to see Dally warm up to Mesa and play with her like she would a co-hort. They even played tag while doing the Dally-patented "Rumple Run" through my small apartment. Seeing the two of them play together warmed me to the fact this could definitely work.

On Sunday, Matt, Dally, Mesa, and I loaded up into my truck and headed South to hit the last day of the Nashville Dog Training Club's agility trial in Franklin, Tenn. We had to miss Saturday due to the ice/snow storm that hit Tennessee, but by 4 am Sunday, the roads were fine for me to drive the 3.5 hours down. Well...that is until we hit Nashville, and the roads were horrible. Either way, we got there and Dally had two great runs! She ran fast in her Standard, but we got two refusals due to her slowing down before a jump because she had to poop. (She wouldn't poop on the ice outside.) I somehow talked her out of relieving herself on the course and we finished more than two seconds under standard course time, even with the two slowdowns! I was thrilled!! Jumpers saw a slow start, but a sprint to the finish of a great run! We stopped the clock just a second over standard course time. No Qs this day, but I was so happy with how she ran without any training/trials since the first weekend of November.

It was also Mesa's first agility trial. Matt was put in charge of her, which meant taking her for walks, letting her be played with and loved on by others, etc. She was a rock star. In that one day, we had her leash-trained and trained to go up and do stairs. Strangers and strange dogs alike played with her, and she was fearless. A lot of people were impressed by her attitude and the way she is put together, which made me feel good. I was even told she could be something special on the agility field for me. If only our debut wasn't more than year away.

For now, we are going to start working on sits, downs, and stays. I'm also trying to work on the clicker with Mesa. Dally had a bad experience with a clicker this fall when I accidentally flicked her nose while treating and clickering her. She was so scarred by that, that she cowers every time she hears the clicker--even a quiet one. I thought maybe watching the puppy get treated and clickered would make her be jealous enough to want to be treated too. Nope, not so much. If anyone has any tips on what I can do with Dally, please share!

I'm also going to try to do things differently with the puppy by teaching tricks and doing the clicker. However, I need to read up on this stuff, so if anyone has any recommendations, I'd greatly appreciate it.