Dally Turns 5 today!

Today is Dally's 5th birthday!!! Yay!! I tell her she's a "full paw, plus a dew claw." Last night we took the girls to the Bluegrass Barkery and picked out a couple of peanut butter pupcakes as Dally's "birthday cake" tonight, and a couple special treats. Our five-year anniversary will be in mid-September, and with the World Equestrian Games going on, I know I won't be able to celebrate that, so we're doing her birthday special! I can't tell you how much I love that silly little Corgi--she lights me up everyday. I don't know what I would have done without her when I moved to Amarillo and that rough year in Oklahoma City. She kept me going and kept me (somewhat) sane. I never really knew a dog's love until I got her, and I'm thankful to my parents every minute for helping me pick her out and pay for her. (Although, truth be told, she picked me out...I was looking at her tri-color sister, but she sat in front of me in the barn the whole time barking at me that I was taking her home--I should have known then that she was bossy!)

A Mesa Update: She had her first official agility lesson this week. My friend, and trainer, invited me over because I had expressed concern that I didn't know what else I could be doing with Mesa as far as groundwork for puppies. So, Melanie showed me how I could be teaching her rear and front crosses on the flat, sending her around jump standards and crossing, and more target work. We decided since she was so focused on me and expected treats from me every time, I needed to do more target training with the treats on the target and teaching her "touch." Once she got that down, we can move on to working on the last quarter of a lowered-A-Frame for a short bit.

Also, she needs to learn the "Bang Game" on the teeter--learn to bang the teeter and not be scared. I don't have the world's best teeter, but Melanie gave me some tips to make it sound loud (put a cookie sheet under it on the concrete). Mesa's a little scared of the loud sound, so I'll have to wrangle Matt in to bang the teeter down while I click and treat her for not being scared.

A couple weeks of that, and I'll see if I can meet with Melanie again to judge our progress and see if we can move forward. Mesa turned 8 months on July 10, so I need to start getting serious about training. Another agility friend offered to help me work on Rally with Mesa and Dally so we can enter a few trials--I really need to give her a call and do that a couple of times because the year is half-over! (My goal is to get Dally and Mesa's Rally Novice title by the end of the year.)

Oh, and one more thing--last night we took the girls to downtown Lexington for the Thursday Night Live event and to walk around and look at the horses for Horse Mania 2010. It was fun, and not too hot! It was a great chance to get Mesa out and about, see new people (and kids--she's a little fearful of them if they make quick gestures), and new things. They didn't appreciate the fountains at Triangle Park--as much as they love the water in the creeks, water spewing up from concrete is not their thing!!

4 for 6

So an update on Dally's debut in 4" Preferred. I showed Dally all three days at the Hoosier Kennel Club trial in Novice Preferred 4-inches. She went 6-for-6, earning her Nov P title! Yay...one level down, at least one more to go to be back where we were in Excellent.

The question is, did Dally like jumping 4-inches better? Well, it means she really doesn't have to hike up her compact body up and over 8" jumps. With 4" she doesn't seem to have to put forth a lot effort--which I think she likes. Now, the weather was horrendously hot! I'm talking lower 90s and high humidity. We're talking brutal! I was lucky that the fairgrounds where the trial was being held is only 10 minutes from my parents' farm, so when the Open started, I could call my mom and have her bring Dally (along with Mesa and her Vallhund, Smoke) and she'd be fresh and ready to run. (The show is a 2-ring, 1-judge trial, so it was a long day.)

Last weekend I ran Dally one day at the Queen City agility trial, but I kept her in Exc B 8" (Regular) due to the format of the trial. This was indoors on padded rubber flooring--N-I-C-E footing! Now here, she ran fast!! We didn't Q in either class, but she was fast! I was very happy to see her running and looking like she was having fun. In standard she ran past the A-frame (she came out of the jump and was in an odd position, and I probably didn't support the A-frame like I should have), but everything else was clean. In jumpers again she ran clean, but she popped out of the weaves and ran past a tunnel (again, I might not have supported it as well as I should have), but she was still clean.

That was it for agility trials entered so far. I haven't done any planning for the remaining summer, but we'll probably take July off. I'm not sure when I'll permanently keep Dally in preferred.

As far as Mesa's training goes, I started her on some more groundwork tonight. I set out one of my stake-in-the-ground weave poles to start teaching her (and Dally) some distance work. She took to it easily going from right to left, but going right to left seems to be a difficult concept for her. Same with Dally, which is strange...but once they both got it without me really pushing them (I was standing just a couple of feet away), we ended with a game of tennie and then dinner.

A Change for the Better?

Back in May, Dally and I competed at our first AKC agility trial since March. This was in Hamilton, Ohio, at an indoor soccer facility that has great artificial turf footing. Dally loves it--it's always the place where she runs the fastest. It's a fan favorite.

At Hamilton, we started the weekend off right with our first AKC Excellent Q since September in Exc B STD! She ran beautifully, and stopped the clock 7 seconds under the standard course time. Unfortunately, a slight mistake in the Exc B JWW caused me to correct her, which also meant she shut down--a slow Corgi means a mistake in a pinwheel (she missed a jump). Oh well, no Double Q ("DQ") that day.

Sunday saw Dally start off very s-l-o-w in the Exc B STD. For some reason, she didn't wake up until half-way through, when I fired her up on the table. She was on fire the last part of the course, but unfortunately she stopped the clock 12+ seconds slower than the standard course time. Our Jumpers run saw a fast Corgi throughout the course! She was on fire!! We stopped the clock at 45 seconds flat....but later found out the standard course time was 42 seconds. Even after seeing her fly through the course, it was frustrating that our fastest wasn't fast enough even for a Q. And, if we do Q, we are accumulating MACH points slowly. So the discussion has turned to dropping down Dally from jumping 8-inches to jumping 4-inches.

What that means is she'll be running in "Preferred," which allows her to jump one jump height lower than she was originally measured for (any dog measuring 11-inches and under jumps at 8-inches), but she also will have additional time added for standard course times. I think they add five seconds to the time to allow for the older, less-capable, dogs running in Preferred. I think "less-capable" is a wrong choice of words, but it's hard to explain via blog and to those that don't know dog agility. Dally measures 10.12" at her withers, but considering she'll turn 5 in July, she's finally matured into a full Pembroke Welsh Corgi body, which means a broad, heavy chest and weaker hind end. It's hard to propel that much body (25lbs) over an 8-inch jump and run through tight courses in record speed.

I jumped her in a couple of 4-inch courses at my two classes this week and she seems to be comfortable and happy with it. We'll just see how it goes.

This weekend we have the Derby City Agility Association trial in Buckner, Ky., but she'll be running in the Exc B 8-inch regular division. Next weekend is the Hoosier Kennel Club AKC agility (my dad is the show secretary) and that is where she'll make her debut in Preferred. One negative about dropping down to Preferred is that we have to start all over--accrue our titles, yet again, and start at Novice. I'm hoping that in the 3-day trial in Lebanon, Ind., we can earn all three legs of both the Nov P STD and JWW levels in the weekend. Then we can go up to Open in an upcoming trial.

I'll keep everyone up-to-date on how the "Preferred Experiment" goes. We are able to run in Regular at any time, just as long as we enter Regular for one trial, and not run Preferred one day of the trial and Regular the next...it has to be the same for the whole trial.

Back in Action

This week Dally had her first agility class in more than a month and she was right on target for everything! We got the go-ahead to get back into training a few weeks ago, so I've been trying to build her stamina and muscles back up with longer walks, works up a hill (thank you barrel race training for learning the wonders of hill work), etc., to get everything back in order. Plus, I think she gained a little bit of weight while she was off training, so I gotta get that pretty hour-glass Corgi figure back! ;-)

Mesa, on the other hand, is a terror! She's getting so big and her energy level is through the roof! I think she is now just a little bit taller than Dally in the withers. I'm trying to make sure she's eating enough (but not too much) to keep her nutrition at par. She's graduated from puppy food (Eukanuba) to adult dog food (Natural Holistic), so now she and Dally are eating the same. They're still both being fed breakfast, but they've been backed off of that some. (My family traditionally only feeds their dogs once a day--at night--but we are the type that feeds them table scraps and human food, so don't think we starve them all day long. Trust me, take a look at my mom's chunky English Cocker, and you'd be fine with how we feed our dogs.) I just don't know how I want to proceed with feeding both girls. Dally's perfectly happy with breakfast...of course...she's a Corgi!

I finished the In Focus book Melanie let me borrow, and I feel like I need to read it a second time to really take in everything it was talking about and be able to start applying it to both Mesa and Dally. Due to the lack of free time in my schedule I haven't even begun to look for a new book or DVD to absorb more agility information.

On another note, my boyfriend and I found a house and have been in the process of moving in! Yay for a yard!! I've already moved my agility equipment (set of 12 stick-in-the-ground weave poles, wobble board, baby tunnel) to the house and will soon start working on some things outside, once I'm fully moved in (which will be in the next couple of weeks). Mesa will turn 6-months-old next week (May 10), so hopefully we can move on to more training for Rally and flat work agility training.

Catching up

I apologize for the lack of posts the past few weeks--life has been rather crazy for me...and the girls. Here's a quick summary of the past few weeks:

I was able to take the girls back home to Indiana to visit my parents on their farm for a few days. This was Mesa's first trip to my parents, which meant first time sleeping loose in the mud room, first trips to the barn, first upclose encounters with the horses, etc., etc. She was very good! (Granted, her house breaking didn't hold up overnight being loose and on the opposite end of the house (no one could hear her cry to go potty), but she was back on the ball the first night back in Lexington.) Her first trips to the barn were kept on leash, but she was able to roam around and had good recall when I couldn't hear her trotting around while I cleaned stalls. I'm not too sure how she would be while I rode the horses (Dally follows along for a short bit and then sit and wait until I was done working a horse), so she stayed up at the house for that. I think I'll wait until she's older and hopefully more mature.

Dally's been taking some time off from agility due to some sore hips that were discovered after the Louisville Cluster in March. My Indiana vet put her on some Rimadyl to help with the inflammation and recommended four weeks off. Our family friend, who is a massage therapist who works on people, horses, and dogs, discovered her SI joint was out of whack, as well as having her diaphram being stuck, thus pulling a couple of vertebrae. The four week break has been rough on her--no tennie ball, no agility, no long walks, and no runs. The last two weeks of my class with Melanie I ran her young Chihuahua, Rupp, who is a rock star and much faster. This way I was able to get some training in on a faster dog, like how Mesa will be.

Mesa has been doing well with her training. She's doing solid sits, downs, and spins. We've added "Give me paw!" to our routine (I offer my hand and she puts her paw in it), as well as working at sitting at heal (sitting straight at my side). Our walks have good days and bad days, where she doesn't want to concentrate on walking straight ahead and she gets distracted easily, but once I say her name, she straightens up and puts focus back on me...even if it's just for a few seconds.

Dally's next agility trial isn't until late May in Hamilton, Ohio, at our favorite trial site (an indoor soccer facility with astroturf). Until then, we'll take it easy when our four weeks are up (end of next week) and work back up into our solid form. For Mesa, we'll keep working on the basics and reining in her energy. One positive thing....she can put on a sliding stop when I yell "Whoa!" (It's the horse trainer in me!)

Happy Spring!!

Fusing of the Nub

It is with sadness that I announce Mesa's nub has fused. :-( It's nothing serious, so no worries there. I was just getting excited because she was learning how to wiggle her nub (her tail that was only 1 vertebrae), and this weekend I noticed that her nub was pointing up, and every time I grabbed it, it didn't move. It's a natural thing, and it doesn't hinder her in any way--she just can't wiggle her "nubbin" any more. Maybe she'll figure out how to just shake her rump...

Training with the choke collar has gone surprisingly well. Mesa doesn't fight me at all when I give it a little jerk. While we're walking along the road, if I need to get her attention back on me and walking, I just have to give it a little tug and call her name and she responds by looking up at me and being right at my feet. I've been using the clicker to reward her when she does this at different times. It just makes me happy that she is easily coming back to me when she's distracted--surely a positive sign for future training.

Dally went to the chiropractor last week and this time was out in 10 places, including some problems in her hip. I've put her back on her iodine supplement with her breakfast and we're just trying to figure out why she's falling apart. She was still happy at agility class at Melanie's on Tuesday, running fast and working well in everything, so it doesn't seem to bother her too much--whatever her problem is.

This week I'm finally going home to the family farm for some relaxation and some pony time. It'll be Mesa's first trip home and her first time running around the house, meeting the horses, etc. I'm really excited to see how she does and how she'll love running around the yard and barn. Dally will get her yearly vaccinations and exam from our vet back home (he's seen her since she was a pup, plus we get good discounts), plus our family friend that does massage therapy has agreed to see her to see what her problem is with her back/hips. I'm hoping the double-up of the bone and soft tissue work will be just the ticket with getting Dally back in shape. Also on Saturday, we are driving up to Lafayette for a CPE trial that I decided to enter for grins and to experience CPE outside of Milford, Ohio. It'll be mom's first experience at a CPE trial, but Mesa will stay with dad and the other dogs due to the fact that the crating will be in a separate building from the show ring (not cool, T&RT).

I should have lots of photos and stories from the weekend. Meanwhile, I'm still working on reading "In FOCUS" and I hope to have it completed after this weekend (I always seem to have a lot of reading time when I go home). Yay for some pony time!!!

Family Reunion

This weekend was the Louisville Cluster/Kentuckiana Cluster--an AKC dog show featuring rally, obedience, agility, and conformation all at the Kentucky State Fairgrounds. It was also my "Two-Year Trial" in which Dally and I marked the end of our second year of competing.

I showed Dally only Saturday and Sunday: Saturday saw us place first and finish our title in Novice FAST, and then two slow Excellent Standard and Jumpers runs in which I was caught off guard because she wasn't the same dog she was in the past two trials. There were many excuses--she's sore from the puppy jumping on her (her chiropractor trip Wednesday revealed she was out in seven places), it is an overwhelming experience for the dogs, etc. I don't know which is true...but I wasn't happy. :-(

Sunday saw slow, disturbed runs in Excellent Standard and Jumpers. In Standard Dally was stressed after jumping out of the weaves twice (third time she finished all 12, but lept sideways out of the last pole) and kept looking behind her. Observers say it was the photographer's camera clicking. I don't know, but I did everything I could to motivate and cheer her through the course. After a second trip to a message therapist (she had an initial session Saturday after her runs), we realized her hips seemed to be bothering her, so I put her up in her crate to rest and see how she felt for Jumpers. The course was a nice one--would have been a great run if I had my fast Corgi back. However, she seemed somewhat excited for the run, and I just wanted to try to have fun with her on the course. We ran (errr, umm, trotted through) the course and she did everything cleanly, stopping the clock at 60.19 seconds (SCT was 39). Oh well, we celebrated and I praised her. A decent way to end the weekend.

Mesa, on the other hand, had a busy weekend of visiting with her daddy and sister, as well as her breeder. Debbie came to town with Toby to keep his #1 ranking, and brought Hannah (Mesa's litter mate) along for the experience and to play with Mesa. Hannah is a spit fire, just like Mesa, only you could easily tell that Hannah was the dominate one in the litter before I got Mesa. At first she was a little overwhelmed, but when I'd leave the two alone with either Debbie or Matt, they'd play and play! The two look so different from each other--different coat (Hannah has a longer, fluffier coat like her grandmother; Mesa a shorter, smoother coat like her daddy), tail versus nub, color (Hannah is a tan sable, Mesa red sable), and Hannah will be bigger (her feet are huge!!). Oh well...I like my little petite nubbin!! Mesa also played a little with a fellow BFOer's Sheltie puppy who is 1 month younger than Mesa. However, when we put them in an ex-pen, Mesa barked and barked until I'd come back, and would refuse to play with the Sheltie puppy ("Karma"). Sigh...

The Cluster is also known for it's dog-related shopping. While there, I bought a supply of turkey trecheas (Dally loves them) and some bones, a new bed for Dally, a couple of leather leads (one for me, one for mom), and a nylon choke collar for Mesa. I decided to save some money and purchase a nylon choke chain for $3 that Mesa can grow into (16") instead of paying around $15 for a metal one she'll grow out of in a month or two. It's time to start working on her paying attention to me while walking and to come back better. I'm trying to work on her focusing on me more now, while she's a sponge, and make sure she doesn't start thinking she can get away with everything.

Until then, it's back to my "Focus" book and simple clicker training with Mesa, and back to the motivation drawing board with Dally. We have a CPE trial in two weeks back home, but no more AKC until May.